A Forced Hand
by YukiIshiko
Summary: Yuki Ishiko finally leaves the Land of Ice, and for a good reason too! But something isnt quite right and if she doesn't watch her step, she will be next!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This first bit is mostly about 2 of my OCs. Other Naruto characters will appear in other chapters. I dont own Naruto!**

Yuki Ishiko truly dislikes her family and her village. The Land of Ice is a horribly cold and uncaring place. In the Land of Ice, it doesn't matter what a person wants or what they think about something; rules, laws and traditions are the only things that matter.

From the moment a child in the ninja-only village could walk and talk, that child was sent to the ninja academy. Training never really stopped. There was no fun or cheerful celebrations for accomplishing things in this village. The only reward for good work was more work. That was the way things were.

No one in the Land of Ice ever showed their feelings. Anyone who did was punished severely, as showing emotions was clearly a weakness that an enemy could exploit. Children were groomed by an early age to show no feelings at all. The result of this was a village that always seems to be cold and lonely.

There was never any laughter in the streets.

There was never any childish giggling or children playing around in the snow.

Continually, there were just different aged people doing their jobs and doing them with the utmost ability possible. Nothing else mattered.

All of these things made Yuki feel empty and angry inside. She felt so many things, and wanted so much from life, that it nearly boiled her blood to realize she had no choices about anything in her own life.

The last straw is when her parents force her to wear very nice and fancy clothes. They took her to the village leaders private home, which made her suspicious. Sure enough, they planned to marry her off and hadn't even informed her of it! Tradition stated that parents could pick their children's spouses. There were no ifs ands or buts about it; if a spouse was chosen, a marriage would take place, regardless if the couple involved wanted it or not.

Yuki was not about to let yet another Land of Ice tradition ruin her life. She didn't know the boy they wanted her to marry and she wasn't about to marry him just because she was told to. So began Yuki's fight for freedom.

_A few days later_  
_*******************_

Yuki wonders around in who-knows-where, wearing a bloodied-up white dress. Most of the blood on her outfit was her own. She had been wounded around the ribs and on her right arm pretty badly while fighting to get out of the Land of Ice. Some of the blood, however, was not hers. She had no clue whose it might be, but she knew they must have been pretty wounded to leave such imprints on her clothes.

Giving an image of a ghostly jilted bride, Yuki found no body would stay too close to her. Shop doors closed as she went by, and people stopped talking as she stumbled about. Sinking onto a bench, Yuki wonders if it was worth it at all. No doubt the Land of Ice would insist she come back. In her condition, she would have to, and the whole thing would have been for nothing.

Discouraged, Yuki walks along some more until she reaches a bridge. The water under the bridge gleamed brightly. It was deep, but not fast moving. Yuki leans over the bridge, trying to judge the distance down, when something unexpected happens. A man bumps into her, knocking her over the edge and sending her plummeting down to the water.

Yuki mentally screams as she lands in the icy water. She splashes and waves and sputters. Then she recalls her problems. If she made it through all this, she would be dragged back to the Land of Ice to marry the boy her parents picked out for her. Never mind that she had never even met the guy. Yuki snorts, accidentally taking in a mouthful of water at the same time. She knew better than to believe that some boy she never even met could love her.

Maybe it would be best to just let herself sink. The dress was awful heavy; if she stopped flailing, she'd be at the bottom of the water in no time. Making herself still, Yuki slips beneath the water and watches the light fade around her. Darkness envelops her and warmth abandons her. Yuki knows it is the end.

After what seems like hours, Yuki feels something warm pressing against her lips. It is almost as if someone is trying to kiss her. Yuki is irritated. A moment later, she finds herself gasping for air. Coughing up water and gagging, Yuki is bewildered at what is going on. What happened?

Being silent, Yuki takes small breaths while someone else pats her back. During this time, she hears a man behind her talking too loudly. Turning, she sees said loud man talking to another man in a ninja uniform. He says, "I told ya, man. She was looking down at the water, all sad like, when that guy there ran into her. He like, pushed her off the bridge. I know what I saw, okay?" The ninja is shaking his head and writing something down when Yuki gets a bad feeling.

Yuki tenses as she realizes the man next to the other two is a ninja from the Land of Ice. He glares at her. The first ninja turns to him and asks, "Did you push her off the bridge?"

The Land of Ice ninja replies, "Yes, I pushed her. She dishonored our village by running out on her own wedding! Such a thing is unforgivable and we have to make sure she doesn't come back to us to make it worse!"

Before anyone can say anything, Yuki pipes up, "I have no desire to go back to the Land of Ice. Trust me, I will never go back."

The Land of Ice agent frowns. "The others will need to think you are dead. I cannot return until I have clear proof of that."

Yuki shakily stands up. "I have had enough! Why didn't you just let me drown if you were going to kill me anyway?"

The Land of Ice ninja frowns again. "I didn't rescue you."

Yuki looks at the other ninja and loud man, but both of them deny saving her also. "Then who…?" She wonders aloud.

A gentle hand on Yuki's shoulder makes her jump. She turns around into someone's arms and looks up in alarm. A handsome boy looks down at her. "I saved you. You can thank me now, or later. Or a combination of both. It doesn't really matter to me." He grinned at her confidently.

Yuki steeled herself and says imperiously, "I didn't need your help!"

The boy frowns. "You were about to drown. I saved you. You could be a little grateful."

Yuki sighs in exasperation. "Don't you get it? My home village wants me DEAD. I figured I would be doing myself a favor to just let it happen. Who said you could interfere and make it worse?"

The boy pulls her closers. "No one is going to hurt you."

Yuki pushes against him. "Didn't you hear that guy? He plans to off me!"

The boy chuckles wickedly. "What guy?"

Yuki looks up and around, but finds no one around. In fact, it didn't even look like they were in the same place as before. "What …? Where is everyone and what happened to the bridge?"

The boy laughs again. "Let's just say the Land of Ice will not dare hurt you now. You are free to go. I suggest you find new clothes first, those are not very appealing anymore."

Yuki looks down at her soaked, bloody and ripped dress. "Well excuse me for .." She trails off. "Where did he go?" she wonders aloud, for she was now alone in the clearing.

Finding no one about, Yuki wanders around into a village full of nice and understanding people. They clothe her and find her a place to stay and allow her to be like one of them. It is the single most happy thing of her life.

As she settles into her room for the night, Yuki is aware of someone staring at her. She rushes to the window to look out, but no one is there. Dejected, Yuki goes back to bed. The stares resume, but she knows better than to look for the source.

Meanwhile, the good looking boy watches Yuki fall asleep with fascination. It was not just luck that he had happened by when he did. The Land of Ice girl was important to hia scheme of things. She was not meant to be cooped up in the Land of Ice. The Village Hidden in the Leaves would be much better for her. The boy smiles to himself. His thoughts are interrupted by another man's presence. The second man reports, "It's time, Master Koki."

The boy called Koki nods. "Yes. Tonight, we rid the world of the Land of Ice. Then no one can stop me from making Yuki mine."

The other man sighs. "Do you really think we have to wipe them all out?"

Koki replies, "Marc, my own parents denied me when I asked for her. Her parents refused and even the elders said I had no right to voice my opinions! YES. The world will be better off without them. Now that Yuki is safely away, we don't have to worry about hurting her."

Marc asks, "What if she doesn't take kindly to your plans? What if she doesn't like you?"

Koki frowns. "Not now, Marc. Let's just take care of the village and be done with it."

Marc has a bad feeling about it, but follows his friend anyway. The scene that follows is a gruesome one filled with destruction and pain.

**When all is done, not one living thing was left in the Land of Ice. **

Marc pants, "Well, the deed it done. Are you happy now?" Marc gasps, and looks down in horror.

Koki smirks as he withdraws his blade from Marc's heart. "I will not be happy until I get what I want. I know you like her too, so I cannot allow you to live. Goodbye Marc." He stalks away, hearing his friend fall lifelessly to the ground after him has no effect on him. Koki shrugs it off and makes his way back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

He had to make sure no one ELSE went after Yuki.

**TBC!~~**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Naruto, I just make my own characters and insane story plots. ^_^**

**Story start: **

Yuki awoke the next morning feeling more relaxed than she could ever remember. After breakfast, she thanks the family who took her in and leaves to explore the Village a bit. It is very different from the Land of Ice. There are people everywhere, children included. It is noisy, busy and full of life. Yuki is rather startled to find life this way; she had never seen it like this before.

As Yuki walks along, a boy comes racing along the same pathway and knocks her down. The boy stops and turns, looking down at her impishly. He says, "Oh, hey sorry. Didn't mean to knock you over!" He grins at her happily and extends a helping hand. Yuki warily takes his hand and allows him to help her up. The boy then says, "My name is Naruto, what's yours?"

Yuki looks at him curiously. "I am called Yuki."

When she doesn't say anything else, Naruto pries, "You sure are quiet. Are you sure you are okay?"

Yuki nods. "I am fine, thank you."

Naruto fishes around for something to say. He knew he wasn't so great with girls, but he had never felt this lost before. It was almost like talking to a wall or a robot. He runs a hand through his short blond hair and says, much too loudly, "I am going for a bowl of ramen, do you want to come?"

Yuki stares at him blankly before replying, "What in the world is ramen?"

Naruto half screams, "You don't know what ramen is? How do you not know what ramen is?! It is ONLY the BEST food EVER!"

Yuki shrugs. "I am not from around here. What exactly is it?"

Naruto grabs her arm and begins pulling. "Oh, you have to have some to really appreciate what it is." He stops short suddenly, making Yuki stumble. "Hey, wait a minute. You said there is no ramen where you are from. Where are you from that is so uncivilized as to have no ramen?!"

Yuki sighs. "The Land of Ice. We eat specially made and blended nutrient foods."

Naruto blinks. "What?"

Yuki giggles a little. "It means we eat rations all the time. No one sees a need to eat anything else, as food is fuel for our bodies and nothing more."

Naruto visibly gags. "Rations? They are okay when you have nothing else to eat, but to only eat that? EWWWW! That is so nasty! You are definitely coming with me to eat some ramen. It'll do you a world of good!"

Naruto drags Yuki to the ramen shop and orders two of his favorite kind. Naruto tells the chef that Yuki has never eaten ramen before, so everyone waits with bated breath to see what her reaction to the food would be.

At first, Yuki is dubious about eating the food. It was stringy, steamy, and was covered with liquid and various colored foods, presumably vegetables. She prods the ramen with her utensil. It drifts and bobs in its soup, releasing a very nice aroma. Yuki is now curious what the nice smelling food will taste like, so she takes a bite.

Naruto whispers, "What do you think?"

The chef asks, "Do you like it?"

Yuki slowly puts her head down on the counter and says nothing. Alarmed, Naruto puts a hand on her shoulder, only for her to jump up and yell, "WHY DOESN'T THE LAND OF ICE HAVE RAMEN? THIS STUFF IS AMAZING!"

Naruto and the chef laugh. Naruto says, "See, I knew you would like it. Everyone loves ramen! Especially ramen from the Hidden Leaf Village!"

The chef laughs a little. "I think she likes it a lot." He points down, and Naruto follows his gesture to see two empty bowls.

Naruto howls, "AAA! She ate MY ramen TOO!"

Yuki sits there quietly as if she hadn't done anything at all. Naruto looks at her angrily, but she just smiles and says to the chef, "That was very good. Since I ate that, would you please get two more for Naruto? I will pay for them."

Naruto beams as the chef places two more bowls in front of him. Yuki watches as he devours the ramen with single-minded delight. As she watches, she also listens to the conversations around her. Lesson number one in the Land of Ice: listening was more valuable than talking. None of the conversations around her seem thrilling, so she stops paying attention. It is then that she hears someone mention the Land of Ice. Yuki whirls around and stares at the men passing by the ramen shop.

The man says, "The whole village is gone?"

The other man replies, "Yep. Not a single survivor either, they checked. Everything has probably burnt down now, the fire was really out of control, that's what I heard."

The first man says, "What a shame. The Land of Ice was a real mystery. I guess no one will ever know what happened, huh?"

The second man answers, "I don't think it matters. They weren't a friendly people and so long as no one attacks us or our allies, we don't need to worry about it."

Yuki stands up, horrified. Naruto turns to her and asks, "What's the matter Yuki? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Yuki has indeed paled. "Naruto, do you know how I could see the news or something? It's important."

Naruto finishes gulping his fourth ramen bowl. "Yeah, sure. Let's pay for this and we can go."

Naruto and Yuki pay for their respective bowls of ramen, then head out to the newsstand. All the front pages of the papers relate a horrible incident involving the Land of Ice. Yuki picks up a paper and reads:

_"The Land of Ice was found earlier today to be in ruins. Much of it has burnt up, and the fire is still blazing. There are no ideas as to what could cause such flames. One would think that all the snow and ice would discourage major fires, but it's burning just the same. The whole village area was searched; no survivors have been found. Even ninjas on dispatch have turned up dead, seemingly on their way back to the village. There are no clues as to what happened and no visible reasons to think it was an enemy village attack. An investigation will be ongoing to try and locate any Land of Ice citizens and anyone with information on what happened." _

The rest of the page was pictures of the Land of Ice, though Yuki could barely recognize any of it. Everything looked smoked, broken, and destroyed. Yuki drops the paper and covers her face with her hands. "What in the world happened?"

Naruto shakes Yuki a little bit. "What's the matter?"

Yuki points to the paper. "That is where I am from. The Land of Ice. It's gone now! Something happened to it and its all gone, the people and the village!"

Naruto just stares for a moment before patting her shoulder. "Hey, hey. It's… well. It's not okay, but at least you are alive right?"

Yuki looks up at him with tear-filled eyes. "You don't understand. Just the other day I ran away from there, because my parents tried to force me to do something I didn't want to. I had to fight my way out, it was terrible. They sent someone to KILL ME. Then some random guy saved me and told me they wouldn't hurt me anymore. AND NOW THE VILLAGE IS GONE. What am I supposed to think?"

Naruto gulps. "I have no idea Yuki. Do you want me to take you to the Hokage so you can talk to her?"

Yuki shakes her head. "I don't know what I want Naruto. I don't want everyone to think I had something to do with that disaster!"

Naruto says, "Don't worry, Lady Tsunade can be very reasonable. If you don't want to go now, that's okay. We can explore the village a little bit, meet some people, whatever you want."

Yuki dries her eyes. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Naruto blushes a little bit. "Well, I don't have a family either, you know. I know what it's like to be all alone. But, I have good friends and a great village so it's not that bad. If you decide to stay here, you can have that too, BELIEVE IT!"

Yuki smiles at him. "You sure are confident, aren't you?"

Naruto smiles sheepishly. "Well yeah. There's no use in being depressed or moody. I wouldn't want to be like Sasuke!"

Yuki frowns. "Who?"

Naruto groans. "I'll tell you about him LATER! Let's just get your mind off the Land of Ice for now! I know! Let's go to the weapons and armor area! That place is always crawling with cool stuff! Or we can go to a tea house, or the flower shop…" He trails off, waiting for an answer.

Yuki smiles weakly. "Let's just go see that Hokage. I think getting my feelings off my chest will do me some good. After that, seeing your village would be great."

Naruto nods, and grabs her hand to lead her to the Hokage's office.

Yuki laughs a little at his enthusiasm. Neither of them notice a furious aura nearby. Koki had seen everything. He had expected her to find out about the village; he had NOT expected her to be waltzing around with some other boy.

This was not what he planned at all.

**TBC~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh, Oh. Nope. Still dont own Naruto. Enjoy anyway. ^_^**

**Story start:**

Naruto takes Yuki to Lady Tsunade. She tells her that she was from the Land of Ice, and everything that had happened to her thus far. Tsunade thinks it is indeed strange. Despite aggressive questioning, Yuki does not change her story. Satisfied, Tsunade declares that Yuki is not a problem and gives her clearance to stay in the Leaf Village. Yuki bounds out of the office only to see Naruto sitting in a chair glumly. He hadn't realized Yuki might have to leave when he brought her here; he really hoped she wasn't going to be kicked out so soon.

When Naruto sees Yuki he frowns. She isn't smiling. "Surely she doesn't have to leave?" He thinks to himself. He bolts up and over to her. "Well? What did Lady Tsunade say?"

Yuki shrugs. "She said I was not a threat and that I could stay."

Naruto hollers happily. "So why do you look so glum?"

Yuki stares at him. "Glum? I don't look glum, I don't think." She shrugs. "I have no idea what I look like. In the Land of Ice, we all keep one expression at all times."

Naruto pushes at her a little. "Well, this is the Leaf Village, not the Land of Ice! So you can show whatever feelings you want!"

Yuki smiles a tiny bit. "We shall see. I believe you promised to show me around the village now?"

At that moment, however, another ninja comes out and tells Naruto that his sensei is looking for him. Naruto chuckles sheepishly. "I guess I have to do some stuff right now. Do you want to meet my team though?"

Yuki reluctantly agrees and follows Naruto to an open field. Two other ninjas stand in the clearing. One was clearly female, as she had long, pink hair. The other was male, with short, spiky black hair. Naruto charges up to the pair of them in his dynamic way and yells, "HEY SAKURA, SASUKE, GUESS WHAT?"

The raven-haired boy remarks, "You ate more ramen today than humanly possible?"

Naruto frowns. "Maybe, but that's not it!" He turns and gestures for Yuki to come over. "I met a new girl today! She's from the Land of Ice that's gone now, and Lady Tsunade said she can stay here!" By the time he was done ranting, Yuki was there. Proudly, Naruto continues, "Yuki, this pink-haired beauty is Sakura! And the scowling black-haired boy is Sasuke. Sakura, Sasuke, this is YUKI!"

Yuki extends her hand toward Sakura. "Nice to meet you." Sakura takes her hand and nearly crushes it.

Sakura simpers, "So nice to meet you too!" She releases Yuki's hand and notes with relish that she is in pain.

Reluctantly, Yuki holds her hand towards Sasuke. "And nice to meet you."

Sasuke looks at the proffered hands and snorts. "Hn. Who cares? You aren't part of our team, not that I need help anyway, so you may leave now."

Yuki's eyes widen. "Rude much?" To Naruto she says, "Nice friends. Well, look at the time, I really must go get bullied somewhere else. BYE!" With that, she turns and stalks off.

Naruto chases after her. "Wait! Come back! You don't have to leave!"

Yuki stops him with one hand. "Yes, I do need to leave. I don't want to distract you. Besides, I need some time on my own just now. Perhaps later when you are done with your stuff we can do something. It seems your teammates do not like me. I cannot say that I like them very much either, so it is probably best not to strain ourselves trying to be civil, yes?"

Naruto blinks. "Um… okay? See you later!" He bounds back to Sakura and Sasuke with a little crease on his brow. Clearly he had no idea what Yuki was talking about, so he was more than confused trying to work it all out. Deciding that it didn't matter, Naruto turns to his other favorite thing to do: annoy Sasuke while waiting for their sensei to show up.

Yuki explores the Leaf Village alone for a while. It is not long before Koki drops in on her, literally running into her in the street. Yuki gasps before falling with a thud. "OUCH!"

"Oh, I am so sorry ma'am, let me help you!" Strong hands lift her up to her feet.

"Thanks …" Yuki trails off as she looks up. "Hey, you are that boy from before!" She points to the good looking boy who had saved her at the bridge and turned her loose in the woods near the Leaf Village.

Koki smiles. "Yes, it is I. Though, my name is not 'that boy.' My name is Koki. We did not have time for a proper introduction last time. So nice to see you in normal clothes."

Yuki blushes, recalling the last time she saw him she had been wearing a ruined wedding dress. "Yes, well. Normal for this village. Back home, this would have been too chilly to wear."

Koki nods. "Yes, I know. The Land of Ice was so bitterly cold, I hated all the layers needed just to keep you warm."

Yuki frowns. "You are also from the Land of Ice?"

Koki smiles. "Yes. Didn't you know that? You family lived just across from mine. I saw you all the time, doing chores and practicing ninja arts."

Yuki shudders a little. "No, I did not know. I was not encouraged to look beyond our house much. So you escaped the unexplainable destruction of our home also?"

Koki laughs a little. "You could say that, I suppose."

Yuki looks at him oddly. "Do you know what happened?"

Koki becomes serious again. Not wanting to blow his cover quite yet, he invents a lie on the spot. "Not really. I was in another village when this happened. Admittedly, I went home right away to see if it was true. It was awful, the destruction. Then some Leaf Ninjas started questioning me all insanely. They finally deemed me safe to let go, and here I am!"

Yuki nods. "I got questioned too. The Hokage says I can stay, but I don't know if I want to. This place is very odd compared to what I am used to."

Koki smiles at her. "You should stay here a while at least. It's safe. And I will be here after I settle some things up."

Yuki looks around. "What stuff?" She waits, but there is no answer. Irritated, she turns to ask Koki again but finds herself standing there alone. "He's gone again? Where in the world did he go now?"

Koki watches her from a distance, as per usual. He sighs and mutters to himself. "I would love to stay and woo you darling, but I have previous engagements that must be kept. So sorry love, I will be back soon!" With this all but silent monologue, Koki disappears in his strange way to do his biddings.

Bored, Yuki wanders around the village looking for something to do. A small bark breaks her concentration. She looks down and sees a small, white puppy. It tilts its little head at her and barks again. Yuki giggles a little and puts out her hand. The puppy darts forward, sniffs, the begins licking her. Yuki laughs more loudly. "Hey! That tickles!" The puppy scrambles up into her arms and makes itself comfortable. "Hey, where is your owner little guy?" The puppy whines, as if to say, "I don't know!" Yuki pets the puppy's head. "Don't worry, I will find out where you live."

An hour later, Yuki had asked nearly everyone she saw if they knew who the puppy belonged to. Many people recognized it, but couldn't think of who owned him. Yuki was beginning to wonder if people were being unhelpful on purpose. It is then she notices it is getting dark. While she had been puppy-owner seeking, the Hokage had arranged for her to have a place to stay, so she heads to her new home. Yuki and the puppy have a bite to eat before hitting the hay. Before falling asleep, Yuki promises the puppy they will find his owner soon.

The puppy merely sighs and moves closer to Yuki in his sleep.

**TBC~**


	4. Chapter 4

**You guessed it. No ownage of Naruto. **

**Story start:**

Yuki awakes to something wet pressing against her repeatedly. Rubbing her eyes, she looks down and sees the puppy. "Right! We gotta find your owner today little fellow!" In response, the puppy barks happily.

After a quick breakfast, Yuki puts the puppy into her smallest messenger bag and sets out into a part of the village she had not been to before. She stops at every store, pulls out the puppy, and asks, "Excuse me, do you know who owns this puppy?"

No one seemed know who owned the friendly puppy that had found her. After being told for the tenth time, Yuki is angry. The puppy whimpers, clearly being able to feel her frustration. Yuki lifts the puppy from the bag and sighs. "I am not angry with you, puppy. I am mad because people recognize you but have no idea where you live. I know you must know, but if I let you go you might get even more lost! What am I going to do?"

The puppy barks excitedly, then jumps up and down happily. Yuki looks around. "What, do you see your owner or something?" The puppy barks louder, jumps from her arms and bounds away. Yuki tries to follow him, but quickly loses his trail. "Well, how do you like that? Guess he didn't need my help after all." Yuki shrugs, then turns to trudge back towards her little house.

Meanwhile, the puppy dashes towards the scent that he picked up a moment ago; the scent of his owner. The puppy leaps and barks when he reaches his owner. Kiba looks relieved. "Akamaru! There you are! I have been looking for you everywhere boy! Where in the world were you?"

In reply, Akamaru barks and bites down on Kiba's sleeve. Kiba frowns. "What, you want to show me?" Akamaru barks again and pulls. Kiba grins. "Okay boy! Lead the way!" Without pause, Akamaru turns and runs off. He waits for Kiba to catch up before continuing.

Akamaru reaches the place where he had left Yuki. Sniffing curiously, he finds her scent and follows it.

Yuki is surprised to hear barking again. She turns just in time to have a small bundle of fur leap up and land in her messenger bag. Bewildered, Yuki looks down and sees the puppy from before. Yuki says, "You again? I thought you went home or something!"

Kiba, who wasn't far behind Akamaru, yells, "Akamaru? Where are you boy?"

Yuki looks up at the boy. "Akamaru? Is that the name of this puppy?" She holds out Akamaru, who licks her hand and wiggles even more.

Kiba approaches. "Yes, that's my companion Akamaru. He was missing all afternoon and last night. I looked everywhere for him."

Yuki blushes. "I'm sorry! He was wondering around near where I stay. I couldn't find his owner so I took him with me. I didn't want the little guy to be left alone outside at night."

Kiba snorts a little. "Thanks, that's nice of you. But, you know, Akamaru can take care of himself some. He might look cute and cuddly, but he is a ninja dog after all."

Yuki's eyes widen. "He's a ninja dog? I had no idea! He's just so cute!"

Akamaru barks in approval. Kiba looks at him with a skeptical look. Kiba says, "Akamaru really likes you. Odd, he doesn't usually take to strangers. Who are you anyway?"

Yuki puts Akamaru down, and he proceeds to run around her and Kiba. Yuki, giggling, replies, "I am Yuki. I was from the Land of Ice. I say was because someone just recently destroyed it all. So, now, I am here. I have no idea what I am going to do to where I will go. It's a bit overwhelming."

Kiba nods sympathetically. "That must be hard." He looks around, not knowing what to say.

Yuki lets out an awkward breathe. "Yeah." She looks at her watch. "Oh, look. It's … time for something. Nice to meet you …?" Yuki trails off, realizing she doesn't know his name.

Kiba grins and answers, "My name is Kiba. Since you have nothing to do, why don't you come with me and Akamaru to the park?" He regrets the words immediately after saying them, but there are no take-backs in talking.

Yuki shakes her head sadly. "Sorry, no. I don't need pity Kiba. You do whatever you are going to do, and have fun. You too Akamaru." She pats him on the head affectionately. Akamaru barks sadly, clearly wishing she will come with them. Again, Yuki shakes her head no. "Sorry boy, not this time."

Kiba stares at her. "Do you understand what Akamaru wants or something?"

Yuki does not meet his eyes. "Your puppy probably misses you and needs to spend time with you. You appear to be a good owner, so keep at it." She stands and walks away.

Kiba yells after her, "You didn't answer my question!"

Yuki's answer is to keep walking without giving a verbal reply.

Akamaru growls. He charges after Yuki, barking like mad. Kiba chases after him, trying in vain to get him to stop. It is not long before Akamaru tackles Yuki to the ground. Satisfied, he barks and waits for Kiba to catch up.

Kiba laughs wildly. "It seems like Akamaru is putting his paw down on this. Are you sure you don't want to come to the park?"

Yuki laughs shakily. "I think I may be better off going than not." Kiba helps her up. The three of them amble to the park. Akamaru runs and fetches sticks for awhile. Then he and Kiba practice some of their voice commands. Yuki finds it amazing.

Before long, it is lunch time. Kiba takes Yuki back to his home, where his family invites her to lunch. Yuki says no, but finds herself seated at the table nonetheless. Kiba shrugs. His eyes clearly say 'what can you do?' Yuki stifles a laugh.

Kiba's father immediately asks, "So, are you Kiba's girlfriend?"

Kiba chokes on his food. Sputtering, he replies, "No, Dad! She isn't. She is just the girl who took care of Akamaru while he was missing yesterday and last night."

Kiba's father looks at him oddly. "Isn't that the same thing? She took care of Akamaru, so that must mean she is meant for you. Only your other half could take care of him."

Kiba face-palms. "Not that kind of take care of, Dad! He slept at her house because she didn't know he was a ninja dog."

Kiba's mother takes a turn at embarrassing him. "He slept at her house? Are you sharing custody of Akamaru with her now?"

Kiba groans. "No! You both know perfectly well what I am trying to tell you! Stop making it difficult!"

Yuki cannot stop her laughter. "Well, this was fun. I really must go now. It was nice meeting you all." She stands, bowing a bit to Kiba's parents, and makes to leave the table.

Kiba's mother grabs her arm. "Oh, please don't go! We were just teasing. We know you are that little Ice Village girl. Please, stay longer. We won't tease anymore."

Yuki sighs. "I don't want to impose on you all any further. Truth be told, the only reason I am here is because Akamaru made me. Kiba has no interest in me at all, so … this is just awkward all the way around." She laughs a little. "I think it's funny that, so far, a puppy likes me more than anyone else I have met."

Kiba's father frowns. "I am sure plenty of people will like you once they get to know you."

Kiba agrees, "Yeah, you aren't so bad! I admit I didn't think you'd be any fun but Akamaru proved that wrong. Hang out here for a while, why don't you?"

Yuki looks at him suspiciously. "Are you sure?"

Kiba nods, and Akamaru barks. Kiba ruffles Akamaru's fur. "See, it's decided. You should stay a while. Maybe you can help me give this guy a bath."

Akamaru whimpers at the words, making Yuki giggle a little. Yuki says, "Well, we can try, I guess!"

The rest of the afternoon, Yuki and Kiba chase Akamaru around trying to give him a bath. Yuki laughs, "This puppy does NOT want a bath, does he?" Just then, she gets a hold of his fur. "Oh! I got him!" Akamaru lurches forward, dragging her with him. "Oops, he's got me!" Akamaru pulls again, making Yuki trip. Kiba looks up just in time to realize Yuki is falling. He straightens up, causing their lips to touch briefly.

In that moment, several things happen at once. First, Yuki and Kiba stare at each other in disbelief. Second, Kiba leans in to kiss her again, only to find the passion he had felt was not gone. Lastly, Akamaru jumps into the tub of soapy water, spraying Yuki and Kiba with suds.

Yuki squeals, looking at the wet puppy with concern; Kiba blinks and stares at Akamaru as if he forgot why they were all there. Yuki and Kiba look at each other again and laugh. Between them both, Akamaru manages to get a good bath. Not wanting to overstay her welcome, Yuki leaves shortly after, allowing Kiba to simmer in his thoughts.

Yuki goes home exhausted. She finds a note on her living room coffee table. Scribbled in a handwriting she didn't recognize were the words: You belong to me.

Yuki looks around wildly, but sees nothing. A knock on the door nearly scares the wits out of her. Cautiously, she opens the door and is relieved to see Naruto. She shows him the note, to which he suggests she find someplace else to stay. Yuki thinks that is an okay idea, but where to stay… ?

Koki watches in fury as Yuki is welcomed into Kiba's home warmly. All she had to do was tell the father that she found a strange note and he let her in right away. They ushered her to a spare room and that was that. Koki could not believe how … HELPFUL … these people were.

First the blond boy, now this one.

Koki begins thinking of a new plan right away. Clearly, leaving Yuki in the Leaf Village was a bad idea. He couldn't allow her to escape his plans so early in the game. Smirking, Koki decides to enact his plan the next day.

**TBC~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Oh, a phone call! ... I've just been informed that I still do not own Naruto. GEEZ. haha. **

**Story start:**

The day after Yuki found the creepy note in her home, she leaves Kiba's house with a sense of dread. She does not get far before arrows shoot at her and miss her by mere inches. Terrified, she dashes off quickly in the opposite direction.

A few minutes later, an onslaught of flying kunai make Yuki take cover in the trees. At every turn, some sort of weapon is right in her face, ready to take her down. Yuki is overwhelmed by the sudden attacks. Ninja or not, this was far more aggressive than she was used to. Not to mention, she could not see a single person doing any of the attacking. The whole thing was mysterious, but Yuki didn't have time to think about it much. Dodging more kunai, Yuki wonders what she can do to escape.

Koki watches in faint amusement as Yuki dodges his attacks. He is not aiming to truly hurt her; she would be dead already if that were the case. Instead, he watches her fear grow exponentially and smirks to himself. It would only be a matter of time before she would leave the village behind forever. Confident, Koki sends more kunai, these on fire, to chase Yuki down.

Yuki gasps when she sees the flaming kunai. Just before it reaches her, though, something grabs the kunai and puts out the flame. Yuki looks in disbelief at the black-haired boy that stands before her. Confused, Yuki says, "Aren't you Naruto's friend, um …. Sasuke?" He nods. "Why are you here? Don't you avoid social situations like the plague?"

Sasuke says, "Hn. I happened to see you dodging around like an idiot. To be honest, I thought it was Naruto. That dummy is always around and in trouble. Your ninja skills are pretty pathetic. Are you really a ninja?"

Yuki's eye twitches. "Yes, I am a ninja. In training and everything, so don't go to knocking my skills just yet."

Sasuke snorts, "You can't even dodge simple attacks, what good are you as a ninja?"

Yuki growls, her white-blond hair gleaming a bit in the light, she glares at Sasuke. "I happen to be fairly high ranked in my village."

Sasuke smirks. "I believe that, since you are the only one left."

Fury ripples across Yuki's face. "That's it!" She forgets about running and attacks the arrogant boy in front of her.

Sasuke easily dodges her frontal charge. "Tsk, tsk. Have you no idea how to properly fight?" With no further warning, he makes hand signs for a fire technique.

Yuki takes a stance and makes her own hand signs. When the flames of Sasuke's attack reach her, she diverts the flames to either side of her. When he is done, she launches an ice attack. Sasuke dodges that also.

Half an hour later, neither Yuki nor Sasuke have won their little match. Angry, Yuki says, "Oh whatever. I am out of here! I have better things to do than _play with FIRE_."

Sasuke calls after her, "Really? It seems to me that you weren't playing with fire so much as getting burned by it."

Yuki growls again. She turns and stalks back to Sasuke angrily. "What is your problem with me exactly?"

Sasuke shrugs. "Just the fact that you are a weak idiot. Ninja should be strong and able to defend themselves. You are neither of those things, so to me you aren't a ninja, _you are a liability_."

Yuki says nothing. Her eyes darken significantly, and she shifts away from Sasuke slowly. Without another word, Yuki turns and within moments disappears from his sight.

Sasuke sighs in irritation. To himself he thinks, "She isn't such a bad ninja. Her confidence and courage are certainly lacking though. She needs to toughen up a whole lot if she wants to last." Noticing a presence behind him, Sasuke turns and throws a kunai hard enough to snap a sapling.

Koki catches the kunai with ease. Koki drops the kunai to the ground and speaks to Sasuke. "You interrupted_ my_ game with Yuki."

Sasuke frowns at him. "Game? So you were the one attacking her. Why?"

Koki just smiles. "I want her to leave this village. She doesn't belong here. She belongs with me, somewhere else. If you know what is good for you, you will not interfere again."

Sasuke says, "Hn."

Sasuke is walking away when Koki speaks again. "She is mine, you know. Make no delusions in your mind otherwise."

Sasuke turns to look at the other boy again. "Who are you?"

Koki doesn't smile as he replies, "It is not your concern. You know too much now, I must make certain you do not tell Yuki my plans." Before Sasuke can do anything, Koki nabs him and cackles insanely.

********************************  
**Back in the main part of the village …**

Yuki has finally calmed down and found something else to do: train at the training grounds. She watches Naruto and Sakura wait for their sensei. Kakashi arrives soon after, much to their surprise. Yuki hears Sakura yell "WHAT?!" She peeks a glance at the group; they all look stressed out. Kakashi catches her eye and beckons her over. Yuki crosses the field and joins them. Yuki says, "What's going on?"

Kakashi promptly states, "Sasuke has gone missing. We are going to look for him. Care to join our group Miss Ishiko?"

Yuki blushes a little before realizing what he said. "Sasuke is missing? I was just fighting with him in the wood!" In an awkward conversation where Sakura threatens to bean her every two seconds, Yuki tells Kakashi all about the weird note and the mysterious attacks.

After hearing Yuki relate the story about her fight with Sasuke, Kakashi decides to start their search at that spot. A quick look around shows that Sasuke had indeed been taken. Horror-struck, Yuki frantically looks around for more clues. "I shouldn't have left him alone here! I forgot all about the attacks from nowhere! He made me so MAD! I cannot believe I did something so stupid!"

Sakura growls, "Neither can I! How dare you leave Sasuke in danger?"

Naruto says, "Sasuke is a big boy Sakura. He can take care of himself."

Kakashi remarks, "Clearly not, as he was taken by whomever was attacking Yuki."

No one has any comment on that. They continue looking but find nothing else. Having all but given up, the group sit around on some logs and think.

Suddenly, Yuki gets an idea. She makes a few hand signs, releasing ice all over the place.

Sakura whines, "What good is a bunch of ICE Yuki?"

Yuki rolls her eyes and ignores Sakura's sarcasm. "I just thought, perhaps … YES! Look over there!" Yuki points to the frozen ground where footprints are visible.

Sakura laughs, "Those could be anybody's tracks."

Kakashi checks them out. "Anybody who was dragged and dropped this, that is." He holds out one of the arm bands that Sasuke was so fond of wearing.

Sakura squeals. "SASUKE! DON"T WORRY, I SHALL FIND YOU!" Without waiting, she follows the trail. The others quickly follow as well.

Sasuke wakes in a strange place. He finds that he cannot move, speak, or breath well. Fear surfaces in him, but he refuses to let it control him. Concentrating, he tries to find some way out of his predicament.

The trail stops at a funny looking tree. Sakura punches the tree, breaking the whole thing and making it topple over as easily as a block tower. Dashing into the room that is revealed, Sakura looks frantically for Sasuke. She finds him seemingly behind glass. She punches it, only to have her fist stick into the material. Within seconds, she starts becoming a frozen statue. Sakura yelps, bringing the others to her side in no time.

Yuki and Naruto grab Sakura and pull, but to no avail. Yuki takes a step back. With a few hand signs, Yuki releases a powerful ice blast. The glass-like substance shatters, releasing Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura grabs Sasuke and holds him to her closely. "Sasuke!" she wails. "Sasuke, talk to me!"

Sasuke coughs a little. "Sakura?"

Sakura cries a little, relieved that he is okay. "Yes Sasuke?"

Sasuke groans a bit. "Let go of me, I cannot breathe."

Sakura gasps and lets her grip loosen up. Sasuke sits up gingerly and shakes his head. Kakashi helps him up and clears his throat. "Sasuke, I hate to ask this, but … what happened? Who brought you here?"

Sasuke glares at his sensei. "I have no idea. Some jerk who said Yuki was his and he was making her leave the village and no one was stopping him. A really annoying guy, really. Who would go to such trouble for a girl?" Sasuke looks at both Yuki and Sakura before saying, "What makes Yuki so desirable to him?"

Kakashi shrugs. "Can you describe him?"

Before Sasuke can answer, another voice chimes in. "Oh dear, it seems our secret has been let out. Too bad, that game would have been too easy anyway." The owner of the voice jumps down in the midst of them, making them all jump back a bit.

Yuki cannot believe her eyes. In shock she says, "Koki? YOU are the one behind this? Why? You brought me here and told me to stay! Now you are trying to make me leave by scaring me and trying to hurt me?"

Koki shakes his head. "Scare you, yes. Hurt you, no. Not unless I have to."

Yuki blinks rapidly. "Did you leave the note?"

Koki smiles. "Yes."

Yuki presses, "Why?"

Koki does not answer her immediately. When he does, he says, "When I am done molding our new kingdom, you will be my beautiful Ice Princess. No one will take you from me and we will be happy. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Yuki takes a step back and slips on some ice. She falls to the ground with a thump. "No, it doesn't sound nice. It sounds like an insane Land of Ice plan, similar to my parents plan of 'lets marry our daughter off to some guy she has never met.'"

Koki frowns. "I hated that. They wouldn't give you to me, even after all we have been through."

Yuki looks at him in shock. "What are you talking about?"

Koki flashes his teeth again. "I asked for you repeatedly. My parents and yours said no. I didn't think it fair. I told them we shared a special bond, but they wouldn't listen to me. You know what I mean, don't you?" Without warning, he descends on her and lifts her up to her feet again. "You can feel that … charge …. Around us, can't you?" Without giving her a chance to respond, Koki presses his lips to Yuki's. He holds them there far too long for her liking; she pushes and struggles but the more she fights the more he presses her to him.

Unwilling to watch such a display, Kakashi pries Koki off of Yuki and she again slips to the floor. She wipes her mouth off on her sleeve in disgust. Koki frowns as Kakashi throws him to the side. Kakashi questions, "Did you have anything to do with the destruction of the Land of Ice?"

Koki just laughs. "It didn't fall on it's own, did it?"

Kakashi hooks a hand around Koki's wrist. "You are going to have to come with me to answer some more questions friend."

Koki's delighted look turns ugly in the span of a second. "I think not." Koki jerks out of Kakashi's grasp. "I will simply take my prize and go."

Naruto stands in front of Yuki. He yells, "You can't take her you JERK!" Koki smirks at this silly display of loyalty until Sasuke stands next to him.

Sasuke says, "You cannot make her go if she doesn't want to go."

Koki ignores them all and looks at Yuki. "Come with me now, and all will be well. We can forget everything else and it will just be us. Come now!" Yuki doesn't move. Koki tries again. "Yuki! Come now, quickly, before it is too late."

Yuki looks up at him with tear-filled eyes. "Did you really slay all of the village just to make me your property?"

Koki sighs. "I did what I had to do to secure your hand away from anyone else's! You cannot blame me for protecting what is mine."

Yuki shakes her head. "You're wrong, I can so blame you. You took everyone and everything I have known since birth away from me. I have never really even seen you before and yet you claim you have wanted me a long time. How is that? I was never let out of our compound much, how did you see me…?"

Koki approaches her and she flinches. Ignoring her reaction, he replies, "I lived in the compound across from yours."

Yuki frowns. "That doesn't make me yours."

Koki retorts, "Don't you understand? I fell in love with you a little more everyday as I watched you from afar. You never saw me and that made it all the more sweeter. I tire of watching you Yuki. The time for you to be at my side is NOW. Come with me, now. We shall leave this behind us and talk of it no more."

Yuki stands up and ignores the hand offered to her by Koki. "I will not go with you. You are no better than those who I ran away from to begin with! I left to live my life MY way, not have someone else dictate to me!"

Koki frowns. "Is that really your answer?" Yuki nods. "Very well." Koki sighs, the glares at her. "Don't say I didn't warn you later. From this moment on, you will be fighting for your life. If you win, you get it but don't count on it. When I win, you will do as I say without complaint. Enjoy your brief freedom." With a soulless smile, he vanishes before anyone can grab him.

In muted shock, the group of 4 head back to the village in silence. Once there, all is reported to Lady Tsunade. Being up-to-speed on the matter, she decides that for the time being Yuki will remain at her office until a solution can be found. Dejectedly, Yuki settles in for a long sleepless night; she wouldn't be able to sleep with all of Koki's confessions and threats bouncing around in her head.

**TBC, mostly likely~**

A/N: It seems like I am the only person reading this XD Ah well. If you do happen to read this and like it, please review?


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Still dont own Naruto. Darn.**

**Story start!: **

Nearly a week passes before Lady Tsunade gets an idea on what to do about Yuki's problem. Smiling, she summons Team 7 to her office, as well as Yuki. When everyone is there she makes her announcement. "I have thought of the perfect solution to Yuki's problem!"

Yuki looks up in surprise. She says, "Really? You figured out how I can avoid Koki?"

Lady Tsunade frowns a little, then says, "Not exactly. But I know how you to keep him from waltzing into the Village anytime he pleases to bother you."

Yuki sighs, "Well, are you going to tell us or make us guess?" She inwardly groans. Guessing games made her madder than anything.

Lady Tsunade continues after a moment's pause. "Koki will not be able to bother, hurt or kidnap you if you aren't alone Yuki."

Naruto cheers. "YEAH! We are taking turns being bodyguards, right? COOL!"

Lady Tsunade shushes him. "Not exactly, Naruto. What I have in mind is a little more permanent than that."

Annoyed, Sasuke asks, "Then what DO you have in mind?"

Tsunade lets out a sigh. Then, as fast as possible, she says, "In order to protect Yuki, she will not live alone anymore. Koki won't have a chance to bother her if she's always surrounded by someone."

Yuki's eyes go wide. "You want me to move in with someone else?"

Team 7 just sits there sort of stunned until Tsunade replies, "Well… sort of. You see, Naruto has no family of his own but his place is too small and so is yours. So, you and him will be moving into a bigger house. Isn't that great?"

Yuki just stares at her. Clearly, this woman's brain didn't work like hers did. Sasuke voices her concerns, "Do you really think it wise to put Naruto and Yuki in one house together? What if he tries something funny?"

Sakura glares at Yuki, but speaks to Sasuke. "Why do you care if Naruto does anything to her or not?"

Sasuke shrugs. "If that idiot makes Koki mad, we all might well pay for it."

Lady Tsunade chuckles a little. "I am glad you feel that way Sasuke, because you will be living in the house too."

Yuki jumps up from her chair, as does Sakura. Yuki half-yells, "Are you KIDDING? You want ME to live in the same house with two teenage boys?"

At the same time, Sakura yells, "WHAT? SHE gets to live in the same house with Sasuke? _DO I GET TO LIVE THERE TOO_?"

Lady Tsunade uncovers her ears after both girls stop yelling. She shakes her head. "No, Sakura. You will NOT be with them; you have your own home and family already. Naruto, Sasuke, and Yuki all live alone so this plan makes use of that fact. And, no Yuki. You will not be living alone with two teenage boys, don't worry."

Yuki frowns. "Someone else is going to live there? Who?"

Kakashi speaks up. "Me, of course. Who better to keep my students in line?"

Sakura yells, "Wait, that's really not fair! Lady Tsunade, are you replacing me or something?"

Lady Tsunade shakes her head no. "No, I am not replacing you Sakura. I am merely trying to keep our Village safe. Right now, that entails keeping Yuki out of Koki's grasp. I am sad to say that I don't think you can help with that, so there's nothing I can do about that."

Sakura retorts, "Why don't you just put Yuki in a home with other people then? Why bring Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei into it?"

Before she can reply, Yuki appears before Sakura. Her eyes have darkened once more and she looks deeply upset. With a few jerky motions, Sakura finds herself flung across the room. She jumps up, only to have Yuki right in her face again. Yuki growls, "I don't know why you hate me so much, but I would rethink that if I were you."

Sakura shudders. "When did you get so powerful?"

Yuki shrugs. "It matters not. Do you think I want to live with 3 males that I don't even know? No. But what is worse, do you think? Living with 3 strangers or having a crazy, obsessed guy kidnap you while you sleep to make you into a living doll for his amusement?"

Sakura doesn't answer, and Yuki growls some more. Sakura tries to back away, but Yuki will not allow her to. Literally against a wall, Sakura has no idea what to do. She looks around the room for help, but realizes quickly it will not come. Both Tsunade and Kakashi seemed to be stuck too, as did Naruto and Sasuke. Desperate, Sakura says, "What are you doing to everyone you cow?"

Yuki's eyes narrow. "What did you say?"

A hand clamps down over Yuki's outstretched arm. Whirling, she faces Sasuke, who wasn't as stuck as Sakura thought. Frowning, Sasuke looks into Yuki's eyes. His own turn to red as he stares. Within moments, Yuki's black eyes return to their dark blue/purple color and everyone else is able to move again. Looking around, Yuki says, "Why is everyone looking at me?"

Sakura hisses, "You just flattened everyone to the walls, that's why! Don't play stupid!"

Yuki just looks at her. "Say what now?"

Naruto finally finds his voice. "You just used a whole lot of chakra, it was overwhelming and kind of scary. Don't you remember?"

Yuki shakes her head no. Tsunade sighs, then says to Sakura, "Do you see why it's not a good idea to just turn her loose?"

Sakura nods slowly, as does Sasuke and Naruto. Yuki plays with the ends of her hair. "I did a weird thing again, huh? Maybe I should just go with Koki and no one else will have to endure such oddities."

Sakura agrees quickly, "There's an idea! Go to Koki and our Village will definitely be safe!"

Sasuke glares at everyone. "Hn. What happened to the Yuki that would rather be tortured than go with the jerk who KILLED her whole VILLAGE just to make her HIS PROPERTY?"

Yuki, still playing with her hair, replies, "She's still here. But she's being realistic. There's no point staying here if it's going to cause more problems after all."

Naruto grabs her hand and forces her to look up at him. "You aren't a problem. Please say you will stay. Living with us will be fun! Well, I don't know about Sasuke, but you better believe me and you will have loads of fun! BELIEVE IT!"

Yuki smiles at him, and no one else says anything.

**Later that same day, after the 4 of them have mo****ved into the new house…**

Yuki sits back in the warm water of the bath and thinks. The day had been long and grueling to her. She could still her Sakura half-yelling, half-crying about not being allowed to live in the house with her and the guys. Yuki still didn't think this idea would work, but … who could argue with the Hokage? Deciding it didn't matter for now, Yuki stretches out some more and sighs, deeply content.

At that moment, the bathroom door flings open and Sasuke strolls in as if he owned the place. Yuki gasps and slinks down into the water more. In aggravated tones, she says, "Don't you knock?"

Without looking at her, Sasuke replies, "Not when someone's been in the bath for an hour. There are actually other people who would like to use this room, you know."

Yuki frowns. "There is another bathroom downstairs. Use that one!"

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Naruto and Kakashi are using that one."

Yuki's eyes widen. "Both of them are using the bath?"

Sasuke looks at her, making her slide down in the water again. He smirks, realizing how she took his comment. "Not exactly. Naruto is in the bath, and Kakashi is at the toilet reading one of his books. He won't leave, even though he's not doing anything but reading. Hence, I came in here only to find YOU lounging as well."

Yuki scowls. "I am not lounging. I am taking a bath. The last time I checked, that's part of what a bathroom is for."

Sasuke shrugs. "Have it your way then." Without warning, he begins taking off his shirt.

Yuki sputters. "WHAT are you DOING?"

Sasuke's reply is to toss the dirty shirt into the clothes hamper. He smirks when she squeaks in horror. As he makes to remove his pants, he hears the water begin rushing out of the tub. Turning, he sees Yuki has exited the bath. Towel wrapped around her, Yuki gestures at the tub. "By all means, feel free to use the bath." Without another word, she darts out of the bathroom, leaving Sasuke to do as he pleased.

************  
**Twenty minutes later …**

The door of the upstairs bathroom creaks open slowly. Sasuke turns off the shower and pokes his head out. "Who's there?"

No one answers.

Frowning, he steps out of the shower. Making a quick check, he ensures no one is around. Finding no evidence to suggest otherwise, he returns to the shower. Sasuke turns the water back on to steaming hot. Mid-lather, a blood-curling scream rattles all the windows of the house.

Kakashi rushes to see what is wrong. Kunai ready, he throws the bathroom door open, only to find Sasuke standing there with a towel on, scowling at his reflection in the mirror.

Kakashi dares to ask, "What's wrong?"

Sasuke finally replies, "The water turned ice-cold in the middle of my shower."

Kakashi just looks at him. "Is that all? That's why you screamed so loudly? I thought we were under attack."

Sasuke shrugs, so Kakashi leaves. As he does, he sees Yuki standing just beyond the bathroom door. She is giggling, making Kakashi think Sasuke's mishap was no mere accident. Kakashi decides not to think too much about it, and goes to his room to read some more.

**TBC~~~ Please review? ^_^ **


	7. Chapter 7

**A./N: Still dont own Naruto. Ho-hum.**

**Story start: **

It is the dark, pitch-black hours of night. The four occupants of the house (Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Yuki) have each retired to their respective rooms and have gone to bed. Naruto falls asleep quickly, feeling right at home. Kakashi too slumbers, as he is used to sleeping near about anywhere. That leaves Sasuke and Yuki awake. Sasuke finally dozes off, as does Yuki, but that does not last long.

In the middle of the night, Yuki screams. Sasuke awakes instantly and finds himself at her door. Without pause, he opens the door and finds a shadow laying across her bed. Sasuke flicks on the lights. The shadow hisses and retreats with much grumbling. Yuki's wide eyes find Sasuke's. Before she can say anything, Kakashi runs in. He looks around. "What happened?"

Sasuke points at the bed. "Yuki screamed, so I came. Some shadow thing was laying across the bed and making noises. It was pretty weird."

Kakashi yawns. "Well, it's gone now. Everyone get some sleep then!" Without further comment, Kakashi goes back to bed.

Yuki stares at Sasuke, who is still standing in her door. "Thanks. I don't know what I would have done, I couldn't move. That was pretty scary. Bad enough the nightmare, but to wake up and it still be there, that was wild."

Sasuke frowns. "Nightmare?"

Yuki blushes. "Just some bad dreams, no big deal. You can go back to bed now and turn off the light. I am fine now."

Sasuke frowns at her. "You're lying."

Yuki shrugs. "Okay, I'm not fine. You can still go but leave the light on."

Sasuke turns and leaves the room. He isn't even all the way down the hall when he hears glass shattering. Turning just in time, he notes that Yuki's room has gone dark again. It is eerily quiet, making Sasuke nervous. He goes back towards her room, only to have Naruto pop out at him.

Naruto rubs his eyes sleepily. "What was that noise Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugs. "I'm not sure, but I think Yuki is in trouble."

Hearing that, Naruto follows Sasuke into Yuki's room. The only bit of light in the room came from the moonlight outside; the main light was no longer on. Naruto flips the switch a few times, with no results. Before he can comment, both boys see something abnormal. Yuki is clearly laying on the bed, and some THING is hovering around her, hissing and cackling.

Naruto murmurs, "Sasuke, what is that?"

Sasuke has no idea. "No idea. It cannot possibly be good though!"

Naruto nods, then yells, "Hey YOU! GET OUT OF HERE AND LEAVE YUKI ALONE!"

The thing just cackles some more. Naruto moves forward and the thing stops cackling. With a crack, all the broken glass in the room rushes towards the boys. Sasuke pulls Naruto down just in time for the glass to miss them. It launches into the hall, making a horrible mess. At that time, Kakashi comes back, bearing a large flashlight.

Kakashi, stepping over glass, says, "What is going on?"

The flashlight beams on the thing, making it hiss louder. The misshapen blob begins losing it's form. After a moment, a rather large snake lays on the bed in it's place. Hissing, the snake makes to bite Yuki. Kakashi runs forward to divert it, but misses. Naruto and Sasuke jump in, just barely able to move Yuki before the snake's fangs sink into her pillow. The snake seems to glare at them all before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

Kakashi looks Yuki over, but can find nothing wrong with her. Worried, they take her out of the room and close the door. Careful to avoid the glass, they get her to the living room. Once there, Yuki wakes up and panics.

Naruto hugs her. "Don't worry, it's okay. You're okay. Don't worry."

Kakashi excuses himself to go see the Hokage, leaving Sasuke and Naruto to watch Yuki.

Sasuke watches Naruto calm Yuki down with a strange feeling in his stomach. A voice hisses in his head, "What you feel, friend, is jealously. You know he doesn't deserve to touch her. Why do you let him?"

Sasuke looks around. Mentally, he replies, "Get out of my head."

The voice chuckles. "Smart, aren't you. I guess you are not so easily manipulated. Fine then. I will stop attacking tonight if you agree to meet me later today. If you do no, … none of you will have sleep."

Sasuke knew it was stupid to agree, but he wanted sleep too. Sighing, he nods and thinks, "Sure, whatever. Just let us sleep now."

The voice says no more, so Sasuke presumes that was that. Sasuke spends nearly half and hour convincing the other two to go back to bed. The final outcome had him pinching the bridge of his nose for sanity's sake.

The pair refused to go back to bed alone. Yuki he could understand; she had been through too much in her room. Naruto, he didn't understand; he had slept through most everything. Sighing, Sasuke looks around his room and notes that Naruto is sleeping soundly on the floor. Concerned, he looks for Yuki. She is at the window, clearly worried.

Sasuke goes to her, and pulls her from the window sill. "Lie down. You need rest."

Yuki resists, but tiredness gets the better of her. Within moments of lying down, Yuki falls asleep. Assured that both are out, Sasuke steps out of the house and looks around. He doesn't sense anything out of the ordinary for a while. Then, like before, the air around him changed. Turning, Sasuke expects to see the snake again. Instead, it is Koki.

Koki smiles. "Surprised? I have many talents Mr. Uchiha. Now, we shall talk."

Sasuke masks his irritation. "What do you want to talk to me for?"

Koki smiles, not friendly. "You should realize this new living arrangement does not suit me. Yuki doesn't need two boys to fawn over her or a parental-like unit to supervise her. All she needs is me. She will realize that faster if you all stop bothering us."

Sasuke snorts. "She is terrified of you. There is no way anything you do will make her feel comfortable with you."

Koki frowns. "I know. That's where you come in."

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. "Excuse me, for a moment there it sounded like you were expecting me to help you."

Koki grins nastily again. "I do expect you to help me. For some reason, Yuki likes you. I don't know why, you aren't anything special."

Sasuke snorts again. "Likes me? We get along like water and fire, not at all."

Koki glares. "And yet, you stopped her Cruxian State from blooming. How is that?"

Sasuke tilts his head, confused.

Koki laughs. "Oh dear, you don't know about her talent, do you?" He snickers a little before saying. "Well, for her, the Cruxian State is what happens when she is angry or upset. Her usually limited chakra becomes wildly out of control. It is my opinion that she uses the people around her to do so, for why else would they become frozen to the spot? I have no idea, of course, no one ever did. Her temper was never anything to shake a stick at."

Sasuke ignores the sarcasm and asks, "What does that have to do with anything?"

Koki stops laughing. "You stopped her temper tantrum. That's never been done before. It's odd. Her reaction to you is both disdain and adoration. It's almost as if she likes and dislikes you. A conundrum, isn't it?"

Sasuke does not reply. Koki continues, "It's like this. Either you make her come to me or I will."

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Why should I help you?"

Koki replies. "You want to defeat your older brother, don't you?"

Sasuke looks at him darkly. "Why do you care?"

Koki answers, "I could help you with that."

Before he can answer, Yuki says, "Sasuke! Get away from him! Can't you see it's a trick?"

Sasuke blinks. Sure enough, Koki vanishes, revealing the snake from before. The snake hisses angrily, and nips at Sasuke's feet. He dodges, and watches the snake slither off before disappearing completely.

Sasuke looks at Yuki curiously. "How did you know it was a trick?"

Yuki doesn't meet his gaze. "I woke up and had a horrible feeling. I noticed you were gone, so I looked for you. When I came out, I saw you and Koki. But another look … and it was the snake. I couldn't hear you two at all, that's when I decided that the snake was doing something to distort reality. I am just surprised you heard me so easily. I didn't think you would."

Sasuke looks at her, wondering why she won't look at him. "What is going on Yuki? Why won't you look at me?"

Yuki finally looks at him. "I don't know what the snake/Koki said, but I have a feeling he told you more than I wanted known."

Sasuke nods. "He wants me to make you go to him."

Yuki pales even more. "Why is he so obsessed?"

Sasuke doesn't reply immediately. "I'm not even sure that was Koki. Regardless, something else is bothering you. What?"

Yuki looks away again. "It's hard to explain."

Sasuke approaches her, and she flinches. "Try."

Yuki sighs, then swallows. "I really don't know how to describe it. There are feelings inside me that I cannot name, let alone talk about. For the first time in my life, I am FEELING something. More than one something. It is a little bit unnerving."

Sasuke takes her hand in his. "Let's get back inside before Kakashi or Naruto notice we are gone."

As it turns out, Naruto is still asleep and Kakashi isn't back yet. Exhausted, Yuki and Sasuke fall asleep on the bed in his room, too tired to talk anymore.

*********************************

**Meanwhile, in the Hokage's Office…**

*******************************

Lady Tsunade sighs. "Things have gotten so bad already? I thought we would have more time than this."

Kakashi shakes his head no. "Sorry, he is already pressing to get her reaction. A dirty trick, but who would have guessed it?"

Lady Tsunade closes the folder on her desk. "There's nothing else we can do, I supposed, except let nature run it's course and hope for the best."

Kakashi frowns behind his mask. "Are you sure there is nothing you can do?"

Tsunade shakes her head. "No. As I said, we analyzed everything. Whatever Koki poisoned her with when he kissed her is irreversible. We spent three whole days exhausting all of our resources trying to figure it out. All we found out was what it does and that there's no cure!"

Kakashi replies, "So, she just has to deal with all these emotions and hope it turns out right?"

Tsunade adds, "And hope that no one hurts her feelings or makes her feel bad, because that powerful chakra will burst out of her the moment she has angry feelings." She shudders. "To be a teenage girl whose never felt any real emotions, that is sad. But to have them thrust upon her, all at once, it's cruel. Koki is a twisted monster."

Kakashi agrees. "How do we tell Yuki?"

Tsunade thinks for a moment. "She already knows. When she wants to talk about it, she can come to me."

Kakashi is surprised. "She already knows?"

Tsunade looks at him like he is stupid. "Yes? We had to tell her so she would allow us to test her at all. That, and her emotions were scaring her, even then." She pauses. "Best to not let too much happen at once. Hopefully Naruto and Sasuke can help her keep things calm. Kakashi, I am counting on you to help them all too. We cannot allow Koki to have such power in his hands. Just making her too happy or too mad could ruin everything! Do you understand?"

Kakashi nods. "I understand."

************************************

Koki hisses and howls in pain. His mission had failed.

**Koki did not tolerate failure. **

Those little ninja didn't stand a chance against him now. After all, _Yuki wasn't the only one with a special talent. _

**TBC most likely! ^_^ Please review? I know I am probably the only person reading this XD **


	8. Chapter 8

**I still don't own Naruto haha**

Story start:

Yuki grumbles as someone shakes her awake. "Mhmf. Leave me alone." She rolls over a little and settles down again. In response, the person doing the waking shoves her bodily off the bed. Yuki hits the floor with a thump. "YOW!" she yells. She stands up and rubs her leg and arm a bit, then glares at Kakashi.

Kakashi sweetly says, "Up already, are you? Let's go on downstairs and eat then!"

Yuki glances around. Both Sasuke and Naruto are still fast asleep. "How come you didn't wake the boys?"

Kakashi shrugs. "They aren't much for cooking I'm afraid."

Yuki giggles and goes with Kakashi downstairs. It isn't long before the smell of food fills the air. Kakashi is surprised, "I didn't think you'd be much of a cook, to be honest. The citizens of the Land of Ice didn't really eat much besides rations, did they?"

Yuki shrugs. "Yeah, mostly just rations. I actually learned how to cook when I was sent to the Land of Sand. Lots of exotic stuff there. After that, I tried to learn from each place I went to. My parents hated that I did that but they couldn't really say much since I didn't cook inside our village."

Kakashi nods. Both of them dig into the food. Yuki glances at the stairs. "Do you suppose we should wake the other two?"

Kakashi shakes his head no. "Nah, let them be. They had a long, sleepless night. There's no real mission for today so they can afford to rest now."

Yuki frowns. "So why did I have to get up? I didn't get a lot of sleep either!"

Kakashi ignores the question. "I'm supposed to take you to see Lady Tsunade now. Let's go before she thinks we are trying to insult her."

Yuki asks, "What does she want to see me about now?"

Kakashi doesn't answer, he just leaves via the front door. Bemused, Yuki follows him in silence. After ten minutes of walking, Yuki wonders where in the world they are meeting the Hokage. "Are we there yet?" she whines.

Kakashi sighs, "Yes, we are nearly there."

Yuki stops as they approach one of the Leaf Village's walls. "We are meeting her at the wall?"

Kakashi laughs. "No, just outside the wall. Less likely to be overheard that way. Plus, I think she wants to have a talk about that poison you ingested."

Yuki blushes. "She told you about that?"

Kakashi stops, then turns and looks at Yuki. "Yes. I find it a little hard to believe myself. I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but it might help if you talked to someone."

Yuki sighs. "I am not afraid to talk to you, or anyone for that matter. It is just strange is all."

Kakashi gestures towards the wall, so they continue walking. As they walk, he says, "Anything you want or need to say?"

Yuki blushes again. "Well, …"

Kakashi's voice turns rough. "Don't strain yourself. If you don't want to say something, don't."

Yuki shakes her head. "It's not that, honest! It's just that I am having conflicting emotions right now."

Kakashi asks, "Conflicting how?"

Yuki sighs. "Well for one thing, I've had two boys kiss me and each made me feel different. Then there's how Naruto makes me feel, and Sasuke, and even Sakura. It's weird. Before, I didn't really feel anything at all. But now, everything seems to be tinged with emotions. And it is all that Koki's fault!"

Kakashi pats her shoulder gently. "That sounds rough." He becomes serious again. "Two boys have kissed you? I know Koki stole your lips, but who else did?"

Yuki's lips purse in thought; she didn't know if she should tell him or not.

Kakashi laughs a little. "I won't tell anyone, I am just curious."

Yuki smiles warmly. "Kiba kissed me. It was nice. Even though I didn't have emotions like I do now, I thought his kiss was different than it ought to have been. It was certainly not like Koki's!"

Kakashi opens a gate at the wall and ushers Yuki through it. "You mean Kiba wasn't as good as Koki?"

Yuki makes a face. "Ew, no! Kiba was cloud nine! KOKI was like cold reptilian scales! Disgusting and gross and completely horrifying." Yuki looks around. "Well, we are just outside the wall now. Where is Lady Tsunade?"

**QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ**

Kakashi staggers into the house, feeling rather worse for wear. He finds Naruto and Sasuke eating in the kitchen. Wearily, he says, "Good morning guys. Where is Yuki?"

Naruto finishes gulping down some pancakes loaded down with syrup before replying, "Wasn't she with you?"

Kakashi shakes his head. "I just got back. Isn't she here?"

Sasuke shakes his head no. "No, we checked already."

Kakashi is now alarmed. "And you didn't go out and look for her?"

Naruto shrugs. "Why? She will come back when she is ready, right?"

Kakashi is wondering what is wrong with them when he notices all the food and drink on the table. "Did you guys make all this?"

Sasuke looks at Naruto, who says, "Nope! Ordered it!"

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Except for the juice. We had juice already."

Kakashi grabs the bottle and sniffs. A bare hint of a foreign scent lingered inside the bottle. Frowning under his mask, Kakashi takes both boys and the bottle to the medical center. He goes and gets Lady Tsunade, who examines the boys and the juice.

Lady Tsunade groans. "Kakashi, you're right. The juice contains some strange element we cannot identify. Until we know what it is, Naruto and Sasuke will have to stay here."

Kakashi nods. "Meanwhile, I will look for Yuki."

Lady Tsunade agrees. "Do that. She is probably in grave danger as we speak."

**QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ**

Yuki looks at Kakashi worriedly. He seemed to be angry about something but she had no idea what. Trying to keep it friendly, she says, "I wonder where Lady Tsunade is?"

Kakashi shrugs. "No idea. Perhaps we should play a game while we wait."

Yuki raises an eyebrow. "A game?"

Kakashi chuckles. "Sure, it's called I read my book and you are quiet." Kakashi takes out a book and begins intently reading it. Yuki's face falls a little.

Mostly to herself, Yuki mutters, "Gee, great game."

Yuki sits on the ground bored while he reads. She almost misses the giant snake coiling towards her, except the loud hissing it makes gets her attention. Yuki screams, "SNAKE!"

Kakashi looks up. He swears under his breath and puts the book away. Within seconds he grabs Yuki and runs. "Keep up! Keep up! We need to put distance between us and that snake!"

Yuki complies the best she can, but she isn't much for running. Before long, she is tired and the snake overtakes them. In fear, Yuki trembles. Eyes darkening, Yuki looks up at the snake and watches it writhe in anguish. Kakashi watches in fascination as the girl deals with the snake. Having had too much, the snake hisses angrily and disappears in a poof of smoke. Happier, Yuki sighs and her eyes lighten up again. She looks around again. "Where exactly are we?"

Kakashi shrugs. "Far from the Leaf Village, that's for sure."

Yuki eyes him suspiciously. "Let's get back then. Lady Tsunade will be worried."

Kakashi laughs. "I don't think so. You see, she sent me out here with you for a reason."

Yuki warily asks, "What reason is that?"

Kakashi looks at her blankly. "I must kill you."

Yuki laughs nervously. "Don't kid around Kakashi, it isn't funny!" Without comment, Kakashi lurches forward and grabs Yuki by her hair. "Let go of me!" she yells. Kakashi ignores her and pulls harder. "You are hurting my neck! LET GO!" Yuki whimpers in pain as Kakashi refuses to let her go. Just as her eyes begin to darken again, Kakashi growls in pain. An arrow protrudes from his chest, looking quite painful. Kakashi winces, then poofs in a puff of shadow-clone smoke. Yuki is flabbergasted.

Yuki mentally screams, "If that wasn't really Kakashi, WHO WAS IT?"

**TBC~~ review if you have any ideas or just like the story! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Still don't own Naruto.**

**Story start:**

Yuki mentally scrambles. She quickly looks around then tries to figure out which way to go. Unfortunately, nothing looks familiar. Angrily she mutters, "Stupid shadow clone Kakashi! Dragged me out in the middle of nowhere and now I am lost! I bet that snake was no coincidence either!"

Another voice answers her. "Talking to yourself, are you? That's not usually a good sign."

Yuki looks up warily and spots a cloaked figure nearby. Cautiously she says, "Who are you?"

In response, the person holds up a crossbow and smiles. "The one who helped you with that clone, of course. You should be grateful."

Yuki frowns. "Yeah, only you didn't really answer my question. Who are you?" She draws a kunai from her pouch and takes a defensive stance.

The figure laughs. "A kunai? Really? That's funny." The figure moves forward and disappears. Yuki tries to sense their chakra, but feels nothing. Without warning, the kunai is plucked out of her hand and is tossed to the side.

Yuki turns her wide eyes to the man standing before her. "You kind of look familiar. I've seen you somewhere before!"

The man nods. "I daresay you have. But that does not matter now. You need to leave before Koki comes back."

Yuki stares at him. "Koki? KOKI! Of course! … Oh my gosh. I can't believe I fell for it. I am usually so good at spotting illusions, how did he trick me?!"

The man sighs. "He used his talents, I suppose. There is really no telling what he did but we both know you are not safe out here. Go back to the Village and stay there."

Yuki rolls her eyes. "If I knew where the Village was, I'd be there by now!"

The man shrugs, and begins walking. Warily, Yuki follows him and continually asks him who he is. As the wall of the Leaf Village becomes visible, both ninja stop walking.

The man says, "There you are. Return and keep safe Yuki."

Yuki pouts, "It's not fair you know my name but I don't know yours. Please tell me?"

The man just stares at her.

Yuki crosses her arms. "I will NOT go in until you tell me who you are!"

The man smirks. "You may call me Raven."

Yuki smiles. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" She hears a snap behind her. She checks but there is nothing there. Looking back at Raven, she begins to speak, only to find that he is no longer there. "Raven?" she whispers. No one answers. Disappointed, Yuki goes into the Leaf Village to figure out some things.

**QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ**

Kakashi sees Yuki walk in through the western wall. Happy, he charges over to greet her. Much to his surprise, she draws a kunai and bares it at him. Eyebrows raises and hands up, Kakashi says, "Whoa, hey! Let's not be too hasty Ms. Ishiko! Is that really how you are going to treat your would-be parental guardian?"

Yuki frowns. "You led me out of the Village and I am not falling for it again!" 

Kakashi puts his hands down and talks in a calming voice. "No, I didn't. I was talking to Lady Tsunade. I went back to the house and Naruto and Sasuke didn't know where you were. Of course, they had been poisoned with some unknown thing, so it's no shock they had no idea what was going on."

Yuki lowers her kunai. "Naruto and Sasuke are poisoned?!"

Kakashi nods. "They aren't ill or anything. But something isn't quite right with them. They seem to be a bit lethargic and it's possible their minds have been tampered with." 

Yuki sighs. "I bet Koki did that too."

Kakashi asks, "Too?"

Yuki nods. "A clone of you took me out in the woods and got me lost. Then he said Tsunade told him to kill me, but then someone shot him and he poofed. That's when I realized he was just someone clone." 

Kakashi turns towards her. "And how did you know it was Koki if he disappeared?"

Yuki shrugs. "Raven said it was him."

Kakashi grabs Yuki and half-yells, "WHO SAID?"

Yuki murmurs, "Raven. He was the one who shot the clone. Why? Is he bad?"

Kakashi lets Yuki go. "Do you know who Raven is?"

Yuki shakes her head no.

Kakashi sighs. "Let's go to the ninja registry office and see if we can locate him." Once there, Kakashi shows her several pictures.

Yuki points at one confidently. "That's him."

Kakashi shakes his head. "That's not possible."

Yuki asks, "Why not?"

Kakashi replies. "This is a picture of Raven Ishiko. He was your real father and most likely killed during the Village-wide wipeout."

Yuki looks shocked. "Really?" She thinks for a moment. "I never knew what my father looked like. I've seen that guy around, but I had no idea …. Are you SURE that's who he is?"

Kakashi nods slowly. "What do you mean you didn't know him? Didn't he live with you and your mother in the Land of Ice? Wasn't he the one pushing to have you married off?" He looks at her as if she is ill, concerned that perhaps her mind has been altered as well.

Yuki laughs sourly. "No. The man I called father was my mother's second husband. She got remarried shortly after I was born. When I was a little older, she told me my real father had been killed in combat. He was never mentioned again. I guess I forgot about him, since my mother's other husband treated me just like his own." 

It is Kakashi's turn to frown, though it isn't visible behind his mask. "I wonder then if that was really him or another clone?" 

Yuki shrugs. "I have no idea. My brain hurts and so does everything else. I need to lie down." Without further ado, Yuki sways on the spot. Luckily, Kakashi catches her before she falls.

Kakashi mutters to himself, "This is getting weirder by the minute." He takes Yuki to the clinic where Lady Tsunade is tending to Naruto and Sasuke.

She greets him happily. "I found out what was wrong with them! They ingested herbs that allow memory modification… what's wrong with Yuki?" 

Kakashi lays Yuki down on an empty cot. "She's fainted, I believe."

They step out of the room, leaving the three teens there. They go to Lady Tsunade's office to talk. Kakashi then proceeds to tell Tsunade everything that Yuki had said, including the bits about Koki and Raven. Lady Tsunade is shocked.

"Do you think there is a chance Raven is still alive Kakashi?" 

Kakashi shrugs. "I have no idea. Something doesn't add up, you know? His profile clearly lists him as Yuki's father. Her mother's profile has only him on it, yet Yuki claims another man was there in his place. It makes no sense."

Lady Tsunade sighs. "Perhaps this has something to do with it." She puts a bottle down on the desk. Floating inside is some green and brown goop. "This is what we extracted from the juice in the house. I have yet to find a way to get it out of the boys, but it appears the effects of it wear off naturally. Hopefully when it does they can tell us something. In the mean time, we should keep a close eye on the three of them and make sure nothing else happens." 

Another voice chimes in over Kakashi's. "You don't have to go to all that trouble."

Both ninja look up. Kakashi blinks a few times before saying, "Raven?"

The man nods. "Yes. It appears you all need information, I may as well give it to you."

Lady Tsunade asks, "Why do you want to help us?"

Raven's face falls a little. "I don't want to see Yuki hurt."

Lady Tsunade gestures. "By all means, sit and talk." 

Raven smirks. "I would rather stand."

Both she and Kakashi shrug. Kakashi asks, "What is going on here?" 

Raven sighs. "Quite a few things, actually."

Tsunade and Kakashi settle in to hear what he has to say. 

**TBC! I know, its terrible, a cliffhanger XD But I didnt want to stick his explanations into this chapter. **


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own Naruto. I have been wishing though! Haha**

**Story start: **

Raven lets out a sigh. "I suppose I ought to tell you that most of this is my fault. Long ago, I went off on my own. I did not want anyone to attack my wife or young daughter, so I did something rather drastic. I used my memory modification technique to make everyone believe that I had died and that Kurai had remarried a man named Kai."

Kakashi shakes his head. "And … that actually worked?"

Raven nods. "Yeah. Were the villagers around today, they would tell you all about Kai. How he looked, how he acted, how he was terrible at telling jokes, anything you asked they would answer."

Tsunade interrupts, "So you got a replacement for yourself? Why isn't he listed on your wife or your daughter's papers?"

Raven replies, "Because Kai never existed."

Tsunade and Kakashi yell, "WHAT?"

Raven chuckles. "No lie. I made everyone believe he was real. People spoke about him as if they saw him all the time but no one ever saw him at all. He was a part of their memories and that is all that is really needed to make it feasible." He pauses. "It accomplished my goals, at any rate. My wife and daughter were in no danger with a clear male presence in the household. I was free to roam and learn what I wanted."

Kakashi says, "And what could you possibly have wanted to learn that was more important than family?"

Raven snaps, "That isn't your business! I said I would tell you some, not all."

Tsunade gestures. "Okay, so that explains why no one knew about you and all that drama. How about you explain Koki and Yuki?"

Raven frowns. "Koki was from a family that lived close to mine. Right across from our compound, actually. I didn't much care for that lot. They were manipulative and overbearing in a lot of ways. It seemed to me that my daughter could do better. When that youth, Koki, asked my wife for Yuki as his own wife …. I may have overreacted."

Kakashi asks, "What did you do?"

Raven shrugs. "I told her that Kai's answer was firmly no in all respects. I also told her that Kai had already chosen a suitable man for Yuki to wed, a boy named Marc, though she was not to tell Koki that. As it turns out, he was a friend of Koki's. Whether or not the two boys knew about it or not, I have no idea. It doesn't matter now. Koki went mad with jealousy and made sure there were no more Land of Ice villagers to nay say him. Unfortunately for him, I am still around. As Yuki's actual father, I still have the power to decide what she does. He cannot control her."

Tsunade shakes her head, allowing herself to slump down into her chair, she says, "How were you talking to your wife as Kai?"

Raven smiles wickedly. "Yuki's mother knew I was still alive. She knew Kai wasn't real. Her nighttime lover was only me, always. Regardless, she upheld the façade because I told her to. Even if she wanted to tell, she could not. I used a technique to ensure that the truth stayed in her mind and her heart but did not slip from her mouth or her writings."

Tsunade growls, "That is barbaric and cruel! You say you didn't like Koki's family because they were overbearing and manipulative? What do you think YOU ARE?"

Raven narrows his eyes. "I would watch it, if I were you."

Tsunade stands up. Within seconds, Raven finds himself slapped across the room. Wind knocked out of him, he gasps for air. Tsunade looks down at him and says through clenched teeth, "No, YOU watch it. I might not look like much but I can certainly handle myself. I AM the Hokage after all. You will show me respect and consideration without being so RUDE."

Raven stands, then bows. "So sorry m'lady. I did not mean to offend you so." He kisses her hand. "Forgive a man for forgetting to whom he was speaking? You must realize I am not accustomed to speaking among people much anymore. I have spent so long in the shadows I hardly know what the light it."

Tsunade blushes a little. "Very well then. Do you have a cure for the boys Koki poisoned or for Yuki?"

Raven begins to nod, the stops. "What is wrong with Yuki?"

Tsunade sighs. "Not so long ago, Koki kissed her. He put something into her mouth and made her swallow it. It didn't take long for her to realize her emotions were out of whack. We have no cure for it and it seems to randomly bother her. She said it was like learning a lot of new feelings all at once and they weren't all good."

Raven swears, not quietly. "Darn that boy! He knows better than to use THAT herb. I suppose he thinks it's okay because there's no elders around to scold him." Raven grumbles. "I think it's about time we confront Koki. He needs to know that he isn't going to get his way by being annoying."

Tsunade nods. "If you think that's best."

Raven looks at her. "What have you been doing to keep him at bay so far?"

Tsunade tells him about the living situation of Yuki and the others. Raven, naturally, is shocked. "You put my daughter in a house with two teenage boys?"

Kakashi chuckles. "It's not like either of them are bold enough to do anything to her. Besides, I am there. They wouldn't dare put a toe over the line with me there. I am their sensei!"

Raven snorts. "You would do well to remember that teenagers are good at hiding things and sneaking around, especially NINJA teenagers. Don't be daft! Things will have to change. You lot will allow me to do what I need to do to make this right for Yuki. Understand?"

Tsunade nods. "Does this mean you are going to help us?"

Raven nods. "Some one needs to. This is clearly out of control."

**TBC~~~**


	11. Chapter 11

**Still don't own Naruto. NOOOO! Oh well. Enjoy the story anyhow. **

**Story start: **

The first thing that Raven does is go to the clinic where Naruto, Sasuke, and Yuki are. With a few quick hand signs, Naruto and Sasuke are back to normal. Though neither boy can remember what happened after they went downstairs for breakfast, there seemed to be no other problems with them. Raven goes to see Yuki and frowns. After trying various things, he finally forces a bit of some sort of leaf into her mouth. A few moments later she awakens, completely disoriented and confused.

"What's going on?" she wonders.

Raven pats her hand. "I am going to release the jutsu on you now. Please bear with it." Without further warning, Raven presses a finger to each of Yuki's temples and whispers some small word no one else can hear.

Yuki's eyes go blank. She shakes a little, then slumps over again. Raven stands her up and she wakes up again. Her eyebrows knit a little and her eyes take a moment to focus. "Koki fed me a poison to make my Cruxian state more apparent. What a jerk." She looks at Raven. "And you lied to me my whole life, you aren't much better."

Raven sighs. "I understand how you must feel but …"

Yuki slaps his hand away. "No, you don't know how I feel. I don't even know how I feel, how can you?" She rubs her eyes sleepily. "I feel like I have just woke up from the nap of a lifetime. Like everything before this was a dream. It's weird."

Raven tries to put his arms around Yuki, but she kicks and shoves him away. He sighs. "Please stop being difficult."

Yuki snaps, "Stop being pushy then! You can't just show up one day and start telling me what to do!"

Raven frowns. "Sorry kid, but I can in fact do that. I am your father after all."

Naruto's jaw drops. "Her DAD? I thought all of the people of the Land of Ice were dead!"

Raven gives him a small smile. "Things are not always as they seem. I do not have time to tell everyone the story, so it should suffice to say that due to circumstances beyond anyone's knowledge, Koki had no idea that I was alive and well somewhere. It stands to reason that if he did he would have attacked me by now. Since he has not, we can presume he doesn't know about me." He shrugs.

**An hour later ….**

Raven smiles at Yuki, then Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Kiba who showed up to see what was wrong with Yuki. "Fear not, I will make things with Koki right. You will see."

Naruto half-yells, "Don't get killed by that guy! He's tough!"

Raven rolls his eyes. "A mere child compared to me. What do I have to fear?"

**Some time later …..**

Raven catches up with Koki and forces him to stop and speak to him.

Koki hisses, "What do you want old man?"

Raven laughs. "I would think you'd show more respect to your potential father-in-law."

Koki scoffs. "As if. Yuki's father and step-father are both dead."

Raven shakes his head. "You are not the only one who can manipulate things Koki. Let me show you." With the same hand signs and words that he used on Yuki, Raven releases the jutsu cast upon Koki. Koki stumbles and falls to the ground.

Koki takes a few minutes to recover. "How is it possible that you are alive and I did not know it?"

Raven slaps Koki. "I did not wish anyone to know, so they didn't. End of story. Now you explain to me why you slaughtered our village and have terrorized my daughter."

Koki rubs the spot where Raven slapped him. It stings a little. Biting back a groan, Koki says, "I was told Yuki could not be mine. She was already given to someone else. I figured if I got rid of him, she would be mine. But no one knew who she'd been given to. My only choice, then, was to rid the village of every eligible male."

Raven replies, "… but you did more than that."

Koki nods. "Before doing that, I took the matter to the elders. I figured they would understand my plight and speak on my behalf. Surely they could make Yuki's parents see that I was madly in love and that they only balm for my spirit would be to marry the girl that I had come to need so desperately." Koki's eyes narrow bitterly. "But they did not support me. They told me my wants did not matter. They said whatever Yuki's parents said was what would be. I should mind my own business and let my parents pick me a suitable wife."

Raven sighs. "So then your solution was to get rid of the whole village so they couldn't keep spouting their customs and ways on you?"

Koki nods. "I didn't want to do it. But I had no choice! They were marrying her off! Only, I found out too late. I hadn't even planned the event before hearing the wedding bells chiming. Oh how angry I was!" He pauses. "I ran to the ceremony, ready to begin the carnage, only to find someone beat me to it."

Raven's brows raise. "Come again?"

Koki nods again. "The place was already wrecked, people were already hurt. I asked around and apparently Yuki fought her way out. She hadn't wanted to marry whomever her parent chose for her either. I praised my good luck. She had left the village and most likely wanted me to meet her somewhere, so I went after her."

Raven stops him. "You thought she left her wedding so she could be with you?"

Koki sighs. "I believed she was as much in love with me as I with her. Everyone said I was crazy, but here was the proof. So, I left to find her. Only, she was drowning! I saved her and she got mad. That was when I realized she had NO idea who I was. It was a bit of a heartbreaker."

Raven chuckles a little. "Finally sunk in, huh?"

Koki shrugs. "No matter, I thought. I would woo her and win her heart. But some stupid Land of Ice ninjas were trying to kill her. So I took her to the Leaf Village to be safe. I went back to the Land of Ice and they ordered a full-scale search and destroy mission. I couldn't believe it. They claimed Yuki dishonored the village too greatly and couldn't be allowed to live. That was too much to think of. It was bad enough she didn't know who I was, now I wasn't even going to get a chance to let her get to?"

Raven sits down on a log, Koki following suit as well. Raven says, "What happened next?"

Koki gives a toothy grin. "Me and my friend Marc got rid of them all, then I got rid of him. I wanted NO one to compete with me. Unfortunately, the Leaf Village is full of interesting boys who need girlfriends, apparently. I tried to get her away from there, but she wouldn't budge. Now they've locked her in with two of them and some perverted teacher of theirs and I cannot get her. I was close, so close, when I pretended to be said teacher, but YOU stopped me, didn't you?"

Raven nods. "I didn't want you killing her, that's what you said you were doing."

Koki groans. "I wanted her to think that Leaf Man was going to kill her. THEN, I was going to come out and rescue her. Due to her newly enhanced emotions, she would have been grateful and went off with me, horrified that the Leaf Village is so cruel. But NO, none of that worked out right either."

Raven laughs. "Your plans rely heavily on the fact that Yuki will suddenly fall in love with you and go with you. She found out what you did, I presume, and now wants nothing to do with you, yes?"

Koki mutters, "Yes."

Raven ponders for a moment. "Tell me about these boys you fear in the Leaf Village so much."

Koki sneers. "Well, there's the Kiba boy. Yuki claims his kissing is like cloud nine. I hate that guy. Then there's the blond one. Naruto, I think, is his name. He is harmless enough but he could still be a threat. Then there's the black-haired Sasuke. He is quiet, rude and rational. If I didn't think he was going to steal Yuki at any moment, I might actually like the guy."

Raven considers this. "I have a plan. You will co-operate. Whatever happens, happens. Understand?"

Koki laughs. "You cannot make me do anything."

Raven glares at him. "Do you still want to marry Yuki?"

Koki nods. "Why else would I still be here trying to lure her from the village?"

Raven stands and says, "The person who will chose her husband is me. If you had any sense you would stay on my good side and do what I say. I say, come with me now to the village and hear my plan."

Koki does not want to, but he does it anyway. How else would he get Yuki's father's approval?

**Back in the Leaf Village …**

**(Tsunade, Kakashi, Raven, Yuki, Koki, Sasuke, and Naruto are there.)**

Yuki yells, "WHAT? You have GOT to be KIDDING ME!"

Raven glares. "Indoor voices please. And no, I am not kidding."

Yuki rounds on Kakashi and Tsunade. "Tell me you two haven't agreed to this?"

Tsunade shrugs. "It was his idea Yuki. I cannot say that I agree, but he IS your father. What he says goes."

Yuki turns to Kakashi, who says, "I agree with Lady Tsunade."

Defeated, Yuki turns towards Raven again. "Let's get this clear. You want to move into the house with us, bringing Kiba AND Koki with you? You want me to live with FOUR teenage boys and two grown-ups that probably won't be much help anyway? Do you realize how EVIL Koki is?"

Raven taps his foot at Yuki. "Unless you want me to give you a whipping, you will do as I say without comment."

Yuki stands up straighter, clearly defiant. "You might be my biological father, but you were never there for me as a child. Why should I value your opinion?"

Before Raven can speak, Sasuke says, " What are you more afraid of Yuki? That one of us will make a move on you or that you might actually like it if one of us did?"

Yuki turns bright red and says nothing.

Raven inwardly smirks. "Well, good to know that my cure has made Yuki's emotions normal again. Not exactly Land of Ice standard, but nothing extreme this go round." He claps his hands together. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's all get home and settle in. We've lots of things to take care of and little time to do it!"

With much grumblings, everyone gets to the house. Miraculously, there's enough bedrooms for all but still only two bathrooms. Yuki cringes at the thought of never getting in the bathroom without being barged in on ever again.

Yuki has a hard time falling asleep that night. She was too busy thinking about what Sasuke said.

As it turned out, she** DIDN'T** know what she was more afraid of. 

That really worried her.

**TBC! please review or mail if you like this so far. Does anyone have any preferences to whom Yuki ought to be with ? heehe **


	12. Chapter 12

**I am still not the owner of Naruto. Please enjoy this while I lament that fact.**

**Story start:**

Yuki lay awake all night. She couldn't sleep, not with all these strange people in the same house with her. She knew she shouldn't be picky, but there were limits to everything and this was way beyond hers. Perhaps if things had been done gradually Yuki wouldn't be as upset, but as with most things, the matter had snowballed rather fast.

Yuki's father had shown up in the Leaf Village and took command quickly. This was a shock to her as she had thought him dead long before the destruction of her home. As it turned out, he had jutsu-ed everyone into believing a false story so he could do what he wanted. Although he released the jutsu on the only remaining Ice Villagers, Yuki and Koki, Yuki still did not know why he had done it or what was so important to him that he had to lie all that time about it. The combination of finding out the truth and wondering about the reasoning behind it gave Yuki a lot to think about.

As if her father appearing wasn't enough, Yuki also found out that her father decided to move into the house that she was already forced to live in with Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi. To make matters worse, he also decided that Kiba, a boy she somewhat liked, and Koki, the boy she really disliked, would live with them too! Yuki could barely wrap her head around this news. She was too angry to go into shock and put up a fight with her father, but in the end he got his way.

Thus, Yuki lies awake in her bed and listens to the sounds of the slumbering house. Yuki sits up when she hears a creaking noise. Was that the sound of footsteps? She strains her ears, listening. Her doorknob begins to turn a little, then stops. Yuki lets out a breath. She knew she had locked the door, but she doubted that would stop anyone from barging in if they wanted to. Silently, she slips out of bed and hides underneath her vanity table. From there, the sound of the doorknob rattling nearly undoes her temper. The rattling stops and Yuki wonders for a moment if the person has given up. She gets her answer as the door swings open. Whomever it is walks into the room quietly, closes the door behind them, and creeps towards the bed slowly. Yuki is back to holding her breathe, having NO idea what to do next.

Yuki decides it isn't best to hide, so she creeps out from her hiding spot just as the intruder begins feeling on the bed for her. The person's movements become jerky as they begin checking the bed more frantically, clearly realizing she isn't there. Yuki stands quietly, moves towards the door, and opens it. Unfortunately, she does not hold on to the doorknob when she turns it and it makes a soft clicking noise. Gulping, Yuki makes to step forward and leave the room anyway, but the person in the room with her has other ideas. Yuki is jerked back into the room and the door is slammed closed again before she can properly react. Yuki attempts to flail her way away from her captor but gets nowhere. Whomever is holding her won't let go. In desperation, Yuki screams, "LET ME GO!"

Yuki's mouth is instantly covered. A somewhat deep voice murmurs silkily into her ear, "Surely you don't want the fun to end just now? It hasn't even begun yet."

Yuki's blood runs cold. She knew THAT voice well enough. She should have known Koki would be the one to sneak into her room at night. Yuki struggles to get away from him, to no avail. Koki chuckles. "Your struggles are cute. If I thought you really didn't want me here, I'd have left by now, but we both know you crave my attention." 

He uncovers her mouth and she gasps for fresh air. In the same moment she says, "I do not crave your attention, you horrible EVIL man!"

Koki gently strokes her hair. "Then why haven't you used your powers to flatten me then? We both know when you are upset or scared that you can use them. Why don't you just make me go away?"

Yuki gulps a little. She knows he is right; her Cruxian State only gave her more chakra to use when she felt she was in danger or when her temper was out of control. She was both scared AND angry right now, so why didn't she have any extra chakra to use?!

Koki chuckles again. "You haven't any chakra to use against me, have you?" When Yuki doesn't answer, he continues. "Surely you realize that must mean somewhere inside you know you care for me. You don't want anyone to know it, but there is no reason to pretend when it is just you and me. We are alone. No one else has to know. You don't have to put up a fight with me. I don't want to hurt you Yuki. You know that." 

Yuki stops struggling. Koki's words were confusing her. She knew she REALLY didn't like Koki, yet as he spoke her heart seemed to react to his voice. Yuki began having wild thoughts about forbidden love and wanting compassion from this clearly dangerous guy. Yuki shakes her head, remembering that Koki had KILLED everyone in the Land of Ice, everyone except her father Raven, herself, and him. He was too dangerous and too evil to get involved with. So why couldn't she make herself fight him?

Koki leans down a little and presses a kiss to Yuki's cheek. "Just let me show you what I mean, Yuki. You don't have to do anything you don't want. I can show you that I am more honorable and desirable than any boy you have met thus far."

Yuki finally finds her voice, "What did you do to me?"

Koki trails a few kisses down her neck. "I don't know what you mean?"

Yuki shakily responds, "Stop kissing me!" Koki stops, but still doesn't let her go. Calmer, Yuki says, "You did something to me. Before all I could think of was how much I dislike you, NOW all I can think of is how deliciously dangerous it would be if I loved you! Clearly, you've done something to me to make my mind act wonky, so what did you do to me?!" She half-yells that last, making Koki squeeze her tighter.

Koki murmurs into her ear, "I didn't do anything to you Yuki. Whatever you are feeling is all on you."

Yuki answers, "I don't believe you."

Another voice replies, "Neither do I." The lights flick on, making both Koki and Yuki blink against the sudden change. Yuki takes this chance to move away from Koki and he lets her go, not willing to look like the bad guy in front of someone else.

Sasuke surveys the scene then says, "Koki, why are you in Yuki's room?"

Koki replies, "I couldn't sleep without my beloved, and it seems she couldn't either. She was lying awake waiting for me. You really ought to go back to your own room now, we were in the middle of discussing what we wanted to do."

Sasuke folds his arms and frowns. "Sounded like to me she was accusing you of manipulating her mind to make her like you. It didn't sound like she was madly in love with you, asking you to ravage her."

Koki shrugs. "I cannot help that what you hear isn't the truth."

Sasuke stares at him. "What?"

Koki shrugs. "I know you just want an excuse to be in on the show. Perhaps you should find your own girl and leave us alone?"

Before Sasuke can answer, Yuki interrupts, "Excuse me! I am not an item to be passed around! Furthermore, you can BOTH get out of my room."

Neither boy shows any sign of leaving. Koki says, "I am not leaving while he is here." He points at Sasuke.

Sasuke shrugs. "Hn. I am not leaving while HE is here." He glares at Koki.

Yuki groans. At that moment, Raven enters the room. "What is going on here?" Seeing all of them up, he frowns. "Are you all looking for Kiba too?"

Yuki looks confused. "Kiba? Is he missing?"

Raven nods. "I've checked the whole house and grounds, he isn't here."

Yuki looks at Koki and Sasuke. "I haven't seen him, have you guys?" Both boys shake their heads no. "I guess not." Raven makes to leave, so Yuki calls him back. "Hey, wait!"

Raven comes back. "Yes, what is it my dear?"

Yuki points at the two boys. "They won't leave my room! Make them go!"

Raven smiles wickedly. "I am afraid I cannot do that. The jutsu I cast has worked and there is nothing I can do about it now."

Yuki's eyes narrow. "What sort of jutsu did you cast?" She glances at both boys warily.

Raven replies, "It makes people act completely honestly the way they would based on their truest desires. No hiding, no veils, just honest reactions and emotions. It's quite interesting and dangerous, I suppose, but this way I can see which boy, if any, is suitable for you."

Yuki's eyes go wide. "You are a crazy man! Undo that jutsu right now!"

Raven shakes his head no. "Sorry, but after what Koki told me, I know it needs to be done. You have too many boys around you and no clear winner. I cannot very well decide who you belong with without knowing their real intentions."

Yuki replies, "Then I am moving out of this house and it won't work anymore!" Seeing Raven's evil smirk, she deflates a little. "The jutsu is on US, not the house, isn't it?"

Raven nods, then walks away cheerily.

Yuki half-screams. "What kind of insane person is he? Oh good grief, this is just too weird!"

Koki shrugs. "I told you I didn't do anything. You are feeling this way because that is how you really feel about me."

Yuki blushes and looks at the floor. "Shut up Koki."

Sasuke crosses the room and pulls at Yuki's arm. "Come on, you can come to my room. You know I won't maul you while you sleep."

Koki's temper flairs. "You will NOT remove her from the room!"

Sasuke and Koki then engage in a staring contest. Yuki sighs, then crawls into bed. "Someone turn off the lights, it's too bright in here."

Koki instantly flips off the lights, then lays next to Yuki on top of her covers. He looks across her and sees that Sasuke has lain on her other side, also on top of the cover. Yuki sighs, realizing she is sandwiched between the two of them. With a yawn, Yuki says, "Don't worry. We will figure out a way to remove the stupid jutsu. Just don't kill each other while I am sleeping, okay?" Both boys nod and she falls asleep almost instantly.

Sasuke looks at Koki, both knowing that she is asleep. Sasuke mutters, "There isn't a jutsu on us, is there?"

Koki shrugs. "Normally I would say 'of course not!' but given that Raven is much more talented than me, I have to say that I am unsure. I don't feel any different, so I wouldn't think there's a jutsu on me, but that really doesn't mean anything. For all I know, we've all been jutsu-ed to another planet."

Raven re-enters the room and speaks quietly to the boys. "There is an unbreakable jutsu on all of you. Until each of you find out what your true ambitions and desires are, it will not stop affecting you. For example, after that Kiba boy realized he had no want to be here he went straight home."

Sasuke looks at him. "He left?"

Raven nods. "I found him at his parent's house. He said he wanted to be at home with his family and his dog. I told him he didn't need to bother coming back to this place and he seemed quite fine with it. I suppose he wasn't after Yuki at all." 

Koki chuckles. "Good." 

Sasuke frowns. "Shut up Koki."

Raven smiles. "Boys, don't be loud and wake up the sleeping beauty between you. She needs her rest. She has a lot of discovering to do tomorrow and I daresay you will be shocked at her findings. Good-night." With that, Raven leaves. The two boys grudgingly lay down and go to sleep. 

Yuki opens her eyes again. She looks towards Koki, then towards Sasuke. She shoves Sasuke a little. He opens one eye and says, "Hn?"

Yuki whispers, "I thought I heard Raven's voice. Was he here?"

Sasuke nods.

Yuki whispers again, "What did he say?"

Sasuke replies, "The jutsu will not stop until we have found out our purposes and wants."

Yuki closes her eyes and moves closer to him. She mutters, "Freaking lovely." She shakes a little, clearly upset.

Sasuke sighs. "Get some sleep, we are going to need it."

Yuki nods and turns back over, falling asleep once more. Sasuke watches her sleeping form with intense concentration before finally falling into a restless sleep.

Things were about to get really interesting…

**TBC! Please message or review if you like. **


	13. Chapter 13

**/reads paper handed to her/ Ah, according to this, I still don't own Naruto. Darn.**

**Story start:**

Yuki awakes with the feeling of being heavily weighed down. Opening her eyes, she finds out why. Both Koki and Sasuke had thrown an arm around her waist sometime during the night, effectively pinning her down. She wiggles around, but cannot budge either boy. Yuki groans and begins pulling herself up instead. Just as she gets free, Koki's grip tightens and she is dragged back down.

"Oof!" Yuki grunts. She shoves at Koki. "Hey you! Let go of me already! I am not even presentable yet you jerk!"

Koki growls a little. "It's too early to get up."

Yuki pushes at him. "Maybe for you, but I have lots to do! Let me up!"

Koki sleepily opens his eyes. "What can you possibly have to do?"

Yuki frowns. "I have to wash, dry and style my hair! These locks don't stay light and shiny without tons of care you know! Plus I plan to take a long soak in the tub and repaint all my nails since most of them chipped from the drama of the woods the other day. I NEED time to myself now, SO LET GO!" 

Koki chuckles. "Only if I get to join in that soak with you."

Yuki's eyes go wide. "Excuse me?"

Sasuke snorts. "She said time alone idiot. She doesn't need you to terrorize her."

Koki frowns. "You sure know how to interrupt a good conversation, don't you?"

Sasuke replies, "I wasn't aware that embarrassing Yuki qualified as good conversation, to be honest."

Yuki sighs. "Will you two let me go and argue on your own time? I want to get to the bathroom now." Reluctantly, both boys let her go and she slips off to the bathroom to do her prescribed schedule.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**Some time later, at the place where ninja missions are handed out…**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Sakura whines, "What do you mean Yuki AND Koki are coming with us?"

Kakashi sighs. "Really Sakura, it will be good to have them along. The more ninja, the easier the mission."

Sakura shakes her head in disagreement. "No, the more ninja the more chances we will get caught or FAIL! Besides, YUKI isn't a Leaf Ninja and KOKI is a MURDERER. Why he is even allowed to stay in the Village at all is a mystery to me."

Naruto rubs his hair. "Yeah, I don't get that either. Koki admitted to wiping out his whole village, why are we letting him stay here?" Naruto pales. "I just realized he lives in the same house as me. I live in the same house as him." His eyes get wide and crazy-looking. "AAAA!"

Koki rolls his eyes. "I don't think I have to explain myself to this pathetic lot. All you need know is that your village's Hokage has allowed me to stay, so you may as well get over it."

Sakura makes a fist at him. "If you think for one minute that I am letting YOU come with our team, you are the crazy one! Why don't you just go take a long walk off a short bridge!"

Koki narrows his eyes at her. "I would watch my mouth if I were you. After all, as you pointed out, I have been known to get rid of people that proved to be useless or threatening to me."

Sakura's face turns red, then sort of purple. "Just go away! You are not coming with us!"

Kakashi sighs. "If you don't want to come Sakura, you don't have to. But, come on, having another Jonin on the team would be helpful, don't you think?"

Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto stare at Yuki. Yuki points to herself. "Me? A Jonin?" She points to Koki. "That's him, not me. I barely made Chunin."

They all stare at Koki. Sakura, in a small voice, says, "Are you really a Jonin?"

Koki smiles winningly. "Of course I am. I couldn't do half of what I have done if that were not the case. I always aim to be the best, so this shouldn't be such a shock."

Sakura crosses her arms. "I still don't think he should be here. I refuse to go."

Koki shrugs. "Fine by me. Kakashi and I don't need five women to baby-sit anyway."

Naruto frowns. "Five women? Yuki is the only girl going?"

Koki smirks. "Yeah, but you and Sasuke are going to need watching too, aren't you? You aren't exactly the best of the best, are you?"

Sasuke makes a face. "Uchiha are the best, don't forget that."

Koki mutters, "Best at losing, maybe."

Sakura screams, "YOU WILL NOT INSULT SASUKE THAT WAY! I WILL KILL YOU!" Sakura charges wildly at Koki, who easily deflects her attack and acts as if nothing happened at all. Sakura sputters, clearly put out, and pouts. "Fine, I will go, if only to ensure that no one tries to hurt my Sasuke-sama!"

Yuki sighs. "Oh joy. Let's get this mission over with already."

Naruto claps her on the back. "Aren't you excited Yuki? We are all getting out to do a mission! TOGETHER! We are going to show the world what we can do, yeah?"

Yuki smiles a little. "I suppose so. But with a team like this …" She looks at them all. "I seriously doubt we will make it through this without intense drama and a few battle scars."

Naruto grins. "Aw, don't be like that! It will be great, you'll see!"

Yuki returns his smile. "If you say so."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**Out on the mission, they make camp**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Sakura sets her bedroll next to Sasuke. "Don't worry Sasuke-sama, I will make sure that Yuki and Koki stay away from you!"

Sasuke mutters, "But who will keep you away?"

Naruto frowns; he heard that comment. "Don't talk about Sakura that way, Sasuke! She is totally awesome and you should be honored that she is protective of you!"

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "If you love her so much, why don't you put up with her nonsense then?"

Koki interrupts, "Most likely because the girl in question wants nothing to do with him."

Naruto blushes. "So? I can still like her even if she doesn't like me!"

Yuki pats his arm. "You can find someone who likes YOU though. You don't have to pine away for someone who doesn't care at all."

Sakura screeches, "All of you can beat it now! Sasuke and I want to be alone now!"

Sasuke locks eyes with Yuki. To Sakura, he says, "I don't want to be alone with you. Stop being bothersome and be quiet. We all need to get some rest."

Sakura whines, but cannot get Sasuke to open up or warm up to her at all. Defeated, Sakura finally goes to sleep, leaving Sasuke free to move his gear. He moves to be between Naruto and Koki, making sure there was no room for Sakura to follow him.

Koki chuckles. "Girl problems, eh? The pink-haired girl isn't so bad, if you like a violent and self-assured lady. You could give her a chance."

Sasuke says, "Hn. You first."

Koki frowns. "Why are you so against my love for Yuki? You don't even like her! Why make it hard for me to have her?"

Sasuke looks at Koki, eyes darkening a little as he speaks. "You have no idea how I feel, so stop making presumptions."

Koki replies, "Oh ho ho. Do you actually like her then? Is this really a battle between you and I?" He glances at Naruto. "I am certain the blond boy doesn't care either way. You are the only thing standing in my way. Do you really want to challenge me?"

Sasuke doesn't answer Koki. He closes his eyes and feigns sleep, forcing Koki to do the same.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**The next day, on the mission …**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Kakashi speaks to the group. "Alright team! Here is the plan. We have two women, so both of them will be utilized to distract the enemy."

Yuki protests, "What? You want me to WHAT?"

Kakashi ignores her. "One of the girls will go in with one of the guys, pretending that they are a happy couple. The other girl will go in arguing with another of the guys, causing a scene. The happy couple sneaks in, grabs the scrolls and comes back here. The arguing couple finishes and storms off in opposite directions and meets back here after seeing the signal."

Naruto asks, "What's the signal?"

Kakashi realizes he forgot to tell them. "Oh, haha! I forgot to tell you the signal to watch for!" He becomes serious again. "Whichever guy isn't in on the plot will wait here. When the first pair come back, he will come running to the gate where I will be lurking. When I drag that team member off, the arguing couple knows all is clear. Got it?" Everyone nods. "Great, now time to pick the teams."

Sakura beams, "I vote Sasuke and I be the happy couple! We can totally get in and complete the mission!"

Naruto disagrees. "I think Sakura would be better paired up with me!"

In moments, everyone is arguing except for Yuki, who is just listening to her name being thrown around a lot. Kakashi rubs his temples for a moment, then yells, "QUIET!" Everyone shuts up. "This is how it will work. Naruto, you and Sakura will be the arguing team." Sakura pouts but says nothing. "Yuki, you and Sasuke will go in and get the scrolls. Koki, you wait here for them to get back. Understood?"

Koki frowns. "Why do I have to wait here? I am a Jonin, shouldn't I get to go in with Yuki and keep her safe?"

Sakura nods. "Oh yes, Koki should go! Not Sasuke!"

Kakashi sighs again. "Koki, we cannot risk the whole mission just because you want to make Yuki fall in love with you. We don't have time to dally just because you are having a tantrum."

Koki crosses his arms and pouts more. "Fine. I will wait here." He is clearly mad, but won't say anything about it because of Kakashi's clear stance on the matter. 

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**The mission begins!**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Naruto and Sakura are at the main gate making a huge fuss. Lots of the guards and ninjas come to break it up, though really they are just watching the drama unfold. Sakura, being attractive in her own way, drew attention from the male crowd. Part wanted to help her away from her clearly stupid companion and part wanted to watch her beat the snot out of him. Either way, they were all too entertained to pay attention to anything else. Yuki and Sasuke slip into the city without being stopped.

Once inside, they locate where the scrolls are being held. Several male ninja guard the entrance. Yuki sighs. She hates these kind of missions. Putting on a stupidly naïve smile, Yuki stumbles over towards the ninja. They tighten ranks, presuming she is a threat. Yuki inwardly groans and begins her work.

She convinces the ninjas that her beloved boyfriend is somewhere nearby, waiting for her. She knows he wouldn't stand her up, so she is fearful that he is hurt. Seeing her tear-stricken face, none of the ninja are game to just turn her away. Within minutes, Yuki has the ninjas gathered off to one side, helping her look for her "beloved." That being done, Sasuke sneaks inside and makes his way to the scroll room.

Things are going smooth until Sasuke gets the scrolls. An alarm sounds, resounding through the building. From outside, Kakashi swears under his breath. Koki appears next to him. "No, they aren't back, but I dare say that alarm means they might not."

The ninja outside rush in and shut the gates, despite the interesting scene of Sakura and Naruto fighting. The pair of them get back to Kakashi and Koki, who wait in the predetermined area for them. They arrive, but Yuki and Sasuke do not. Sakura cries, "Do you think they caught them?"

Kakashi hangs his head. "I think we have to assume that they have been captured at this point. This is bad. Not only do we NOT have those important scrolls, but now we've lost two ninja. We have two choices. We can retreat, or we can try and help them. What do you all think?"

Naruto says, "Help them!"

Sakura nods. "Sasuke cannot be left here!"

Koki mutters, "I told you I should have gone with her. He was nowhere near qualified to go." Louder, he says, "No ninja left behind, let's go already."

Kakashi nods. "We need a new plan. And fast!" They all brainstorm as quickly as they can.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Inside the fortress city, Yuki finds herself thrown in jail, along with Sasuke. Yuki looks at him. "What happened?"

Sasuke glares at her. "An alarm went off? I ran. Some ninja surrounded me and caught me. You?"

Yuki shrugs. "I was keeping the ninjas looking for a wounded guy. Big blaring noises occurred, so I panicked. They didn't know what to do, comfort me or check on that! When the ninja from outside came in, they abandoned me to go in too. I tried to double back and find you, but they caught me sneaking around and I got thrown in here. Lovely, right?"

Sasuke says, "Hn. This mission failed miserably."

Yuki sighs dreamily. "Maybe not."

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. "How can you say that?"

Yuki smiles and pats her pockets. "Let's just say, finders-keepers, eh?"

Sasuke chuckles despite himself. "You really are a tricky one, aren't you? I can see why Koki likes you so much."

Yuki blushes. "You can, can you?"

Sasuke drops his grin. "Yes, I can. You are a very likeable person."

Yuki gives him a small smile. "That's nice, I guess."

Sasuke stares at her. When he doesn't say anything, Yuki says, "Sasuke, are you okay? You look like you are ill."

Sasuke still doesn't say anything. Yuki becomes alarmed. "Sasuke?"

Without warning, Sasuke grabs Yuki and slams her against the wall. She gasps, about to ask him what he is about, when he violently crashes his lips against hers. Taken by surprise, Yuki doesn't know what to do. After a moment she relaxes, and kisses him back. After who knows how long, they finally break apart and Sasuke backs away. He touches his lips gingerly, as if he cannot believe what just happened. He turns away from Yuki, angry at himself for losing control.

Yuki blinks a few times. To herself, she says, "Why does this always happen! It's confusing!" Then, so Sasuke can hear, she says, "We need to get out of here."

Sasuke turns back to her. "I know. But how?"

Before Yuki can answer, a guard comes. Both of them tense up, until they see it is Koki, wearing a disguise. Koki unlocks the door and frees them, though he tries to shove Sasuke back in and relock the door. Yuki slaps him, so he stops, and they all escape from the city without anyone following them.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**At the meeting place …**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Kakashi sighs in relief. "You got them both out! Great, let's get out of here before it gets worse!"

Naruto protests, "What about the scrolls? Don't we need them?"

Kakashi looks at Sasuke. "Did they take them from you?"

Sasuke nods, making Kakashi's hope fall. Sasuke says, "Yes, but Yuki sneaked they back, so it's all good. What's funny is they don't even know she has them!"

They all look at Yuki, who grins. "And it might be a while before they do. I left them some very convincing look-alikes."

Kakashi laughs. "Great. Let's get the heck out of here and back to the Village, pronto!" Happy that the mission wasn't a complete failure, everyone treks back to the Leaf Village and the scrolls are handed over. Payments are made and everyone goes back to their respective homes for some well-earned rest.

Back at the house, Naruto tells everyone, "I'm sorry, I like this house and all, but it's just not home to me. I want to go back to my place. Is that okay?"

Yuki frowns. "Are you sure? We could be like the annoying family you never had here!"

Naruto laughs. "Yeah, you have been." He chuckles and continues, " But this isn't where I belong. We will still be friends and hang out but I just don't think living in this house is for me."

Yuki nods. "If that's how you feel, go back home. You are always welcome to stay here, anytime!" Naruto says his good-byes to everyone and heads back to his own little house.

Raven, who has been watching events unfold, smirks a bit. To himself he says, "I figured the blond one would leave soon. That just leaves Koki and Sasuke. I wonder who will finally triumph?" He turns his gaze to his daughter, who is currently rolling her eyes at Kakashi because he missed Naruto's good-bye due to reading one of his perverted books. She seems totally unaware of the silent war going on behind her, but Raven sees it as clear as day. Both Koki and Sasuke are on edge for some reason, but it is unclear why. Was their mission that stressful? Were they hungry? Or were they just anxious to get their way and frustrated that they could not? Raven chuckles. "Perhaps it is time to speed things along." With these sinister words, Raven whisks off to his room unnoticed to prepare the next step of his plan.

He hoped they were ready, because their next trial might very well be their last.

**TBC~ Don't worry readers! More will come soon! Please message or review if you like or have any comments about the story thus far. **


	14. Chapter 14

**I still do not own Naruto. I will go ahead and point out that my story DOES NOT FOLLOW the plot line of Naruto. I have my own ideas and plots to carry out and the original story's line messes things up for mine. Enjoy!**

**Story start:**

After the mission of retrieving the scrolls, Team 7 gets a short break. Sakura takes this time to train, as does Naruto and Sasuke. This leaves Yuki and Koki to train on their own, much to Yuki's disappointment.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**In the ruins of the Land of Ice …**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Yuki looks around in disbelief. "You really made a mess, didn't you?" She looks at Koki.

Koki shrugs. "I didn't do all of that. Marc was actually the one going around setting things on fire. Maybe you remember him?" She shakes her head no. "Ah, well. He was an odd one, Marc. He might have been from the Land of Ice but he preferred fire to anything else." He looks around. The complete and utter destruction around him didn't seem to bother him. "Anyway, this is the perfect place for us to train. The climate is just right, and .." He trails off. "Yuki?" 

Yuki is staring in one direction rather fixedly. "That's where my house used to be."

Koki looks too. "Maybe we should move."

Yuki turns to face him. "It doesn't matter where we go, Koki. The destruction makes it look all the same now. Mangled, charred and snow covered. The snow really makes it look better, to be honest. It makes it look like whatever was here has been gone a long, long time. But we both know it hasn't been THAT long."

Koki gives a small smile. "Then let us begin."

Yuki shrugs off her borrowed Leaf Village jacket. "Alright then. But I still say this is an unfair fight. You're a Jonin and I am a Chunin."

Koki gives his best 'who-cares' smile. "That's why we are having this little training session Yuki. I need to hone my skills, true, but we need to bring you up to par as well. You could be much better if you focused more on being a ninja and less on other drama."

Yuki half-laughs. "I wouldn't have other drama to worry about if it wasn't for you parading around doing a bunch of stuff!"

Koki throws a kunai at her. "So? Only a weak person makes excuses for their lack of talent. Don't be weak Yuki, be strong. Don't let the distractions ruin you, turn them into your own power. You can do it, if you really try. Until you try, you will be nothing more than bait and distraction for the enemy." 

Yuki barely dodges the kunai. She looks at Koki and realizes he is completely serious. Being in the deserted Land of Ice gave her a creepy sort of feeling. She noted that there was no one around but them, so she couldn't rely on someone running to her rescue this time. It was just him and her and if she didn't want to be crushed, well, she would have to improve a whole lot. Yuki's face becomes determined. She mutters, "Well, here goes nothing."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**Back in the Leaf Village**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura are training with Kakashi. They are taking a break when a series of kunai and paper bombs hit the ground in front of them. They all jump to their feet and take defensive positions. Where was the enemy?!

More kunai shower down upon them from the right, then the left. Kakashi says, "Get behind me!" Using his special eye, he looks around for the cause of the disturbance. As more paper bombs shower down from above, Kakashi is disturbed to find that there appears to be no one throwing the weapons. Kakashi yells to the three, "Get out of here! Let's meet at the house, GO!" His three students run off, leaving Kakashi on the grounds with a phantom of an attacker.

Kakashi jumps as more kunai and now even larger shuriken fly at him. Being a skilled ninja, these weapons present no problem for him. However, he still can not find a source for them. It is a bit unnerving. Still, Kakashi dodges and jumps, looking and staying on guard, not realizing he is playing right into the hands of the enemy. It is only when he runs into a real trap does he discover this. Kakashi looks around at the thick material around him. He taps on it, to see what it is made of. If he didn't know any better, he'd say it was ice. He makes the hand signals quickly and blows some fire in attempt to burn or melt it away.

Nothing happens.

Shrugging, Kakashi tries some other things to get out. In his little block, he cannot see or hear the attacker outside smirking at him. This unknown person pats the block fondly. In a whisper the person says, "Try all you like. This isn't ice at all, idiot. You will not escape until I let you go." With that, the person takes off towards their real goal. Those little ninjas didn't stand a chance!

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**  
**At the house…**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Naruto looks around. "I wonder where Koki and Yuki are?"

Sakura beams at him. "Koki said he was taking Yuki out of the Village to train. Hopefully they don't come back."

Sasuke frowns. "Shut up you two. Do you hear that?"

All three of them strain to hear the noise. A moment later, the entire house makes a creaking noise. Eyes wide, Sakura says, "What is that?!"

They all listen some more. The creaks and groans are enough to creep anyone out. Suddenly, the smell of smoke fills the air. Turning around, they note that the southern wall is indeed on fire. They all run for the exit, only to find that THAT wall is on fire too. No matter where they run to, there's fire. Naruto coughs, "What are we going to do?"

Sakura makes some hand signs. She uses water to try and put some of the fire out, to no avail. She whimpers. "We're going to die in here, aren't we?"

Another voice answers. "Most likely." The source of the voice came from above them. They look around, but see nothing until the person drops down in front of them. "My, my. What helpless little children you are. And here I thought I would have a real challenge, ah well, life goes on."

Sasuke's eyes narrow. "Itachi? What are you doing here?"

Itachi smirks at his little brother. "This is my home Village, brother. Is it too hard to think I wouldn't stop by every so often to reminisce?"

Sasuke angrily replies, "You killed all our family! You are a traitor! You have no place here now!"

Itachi shrugs. "It seems the Leaf Village is a forgiving place. After all, do you not let Koki of the Land of Ice stay here? He wiped out a whole VILLAGE, yet he walks around here as if he is welcomed! I have to say, that's much worse that what I did."

Sasuke doesn't say anything. Naruto pipes up, "Well, Koki may have wiped out his whole village but that doesn't make him bad!"

Sakura slaps him. "You idiot! It does too make him bad!"

Naruto looks at her. "But he's helped us!"

Sakura laughs. "For his own reasons, surely. There's no way someone like him is actually capable of being good!"

Itachi snorts. "I do so hate to interrupt, but I did come here for a reason after all."

Sasuke asks, "So tell us?" 

Itachi just smiles. "To kill you three, of course. You cannot be allowed to grow and mature into Jonin level ninjas. The Akatsuki do not need more threats to them."

Another voice speaks up. "Well, who started a party without me?"

They all turn to see Raven descending through the fire. Itachi scowls. Raven says, "Why the sour face Uchiha? You didn't think I would allow you to do this, did you?"

Naruto cheers, "Yeah! Yuki's dad is here, he'll help us!"

Raven turns towards the three and they note the glimmer of hatred in his eyes. "Whoever said I was here to help YOU…?"

Naruto softly says, "You're going to help us right? You aren't going to watch us die, are you?"

Raven laughs. "Who do you think called Itachi here?"

Sasuke, eyes wide, says, "Why would you do such a thing?"

Raven walks up to him and looks into his eyes. Raven smirks, seeing fear in Sasuke's eyes. "I have great interest in the Akatsuki. They serve a purpose for me and my plans, that's all you need know. But you three, you three sport a chance of becoming good. I cannot allow that."

Naruto says, "But … Yuki! You claimed you were here for Yuki's own good. To choose someone for her?"

Raven laughs. "Only an idiot believes everything he is told. However, I am here for Yuki's own good." He points to Sasuke, then the Naruto. "You two don't need to be around her. She doesn't want to leave this place because of you. If you aren't around, then she will leave with me and things can go on as planned."

Sasuke replies, "But if she knows you killed us …"

Itachi interrupts, "Who would know? Everyone will see me leaving the village again, chased off by Raven. They will believe I did the crime and that Raven did his best to protect you. Saddened by grief over your loss, they will not look further than that for an explanation."

Sakura gaps at them all. "I told you Yuki was trouble! Just look, because of her we've been marked TO DIE!"

Naruto gulps. "I didn't know it would get this ugly so fast."

Raven laughs again. "We should get started, the house won't survive long in this condition." He lunges forward, grabbing Naruto by the hair. "Don't squirm boy, and I will end you quickly."

Naruto kicks him and frees himself. "I'll take my chances, thanks."

Raven frowns. "You are a fool." He looks at Itachi. "Let's make quick work of them."

Itachi nods, then closes his eyes, preparing to use one of his special techniques. Sasuke knows better, so while his brother's eyes are closed, he makes quick hand signs and releases a fireball. Fire slams against fire, causing one of the walls of the house to fall outward. Itachi's eyes snap open, only to see the three ninjas dashing towards their new exit.

Furious, Raven runs forward to stop them but stops short as Kakashi drops in. Kakashi isn't smiling behind his mask. "That was low, Raven, even for you. But at least we now know what your real reasons for being here are."

Raven shrugs. "You know nothing except that I want those three gone."

Kakashi says, "And that you apparently are sided with the Akatsuki. Tell me, is that why you did all that you did to your own village? So you could work for the Akatsuki without anyone knowing?"

Raven glares at him. To Itachi he says, "We may as well leave. This fight is getting too complicated now."

Itachi disappears in a cloud of black mist. Raven looks at Kakashi and the three ninja behind him. "This isn't the end, children. Before this is over with, I will do what I set out to do. I WILL complete my goals, whatever the cost may be!" With that, he too disappears in a cloud of black mist.

Kakashi looks up, then pulls them all out of the house. Within moments the house collapses completely, leaving a large burning mass in it's place.

Sakura sniffles a little. "Why does Raven want us dead sensei? What did we do to him? If he really just wants Yuki to leave, why doesn't he just take her?"

Kakashi sighs. "I was afraid something like this might happen. We need to get to Lady Tsunade NOW." Without further ado, they all go to the Hokage's office and begin the task of telling her what happened. When they are done, she sighs heavily.

Tsunade says, "So, Raven really does side with the Akatsuki. I wonder what his real plans are though. Surely he has a reason for all the secrecy and ploys."

Kakashi nods. "He pretended to be an ally for a reason. Probably to make us drop our guard. He seems fixed on getting rid of these three, no one else. He claims they are the greatest threat to the Akatsuki, but that doesn't add up."

Tsunade asks, "How so?"

Kakashi replies, "He himself said he brainwashed his whole village so he could do as he pleased. At that time, these three would have been babies, easily taken out. If that were really the case, why not take them out and be done with it?"

Tsunade nods. "We must presume that his given motive is a lie. He most likely has some other plan that he wants us to fall into. We must be careful not to waltz right into it, but also be wary that his stated motive may be true also. If he is in league with the Akatsuki, regardless if they think these three are a threat or not, he may convince them to attack."

Kakashi nods. "What about Yuki and Koki?" 

Tsunade sighs. "I don't know. It doesn't appear they are working with Raven, but one can never tell. I suppose for now we will have to treat them as such." She straightens up and looks even more serious. "I will dispatch orders saying neither of them are to be allowed in the Village. Until this matter is solved, they are not welcome nor are they our friends."

Naruto looks sad, but it is Sasuke who speaks up. "That's not fair, Lady Tsunade! Yuki didn't do anything wrong!"

Lady Tsunade fixes him with a glare. "I am the Hokage, Sasuke. I make the decisions. You know already that Koki will do anything to get his way. It is likely he would work with Raven if it suited him. And Yuki! She's his DAUGHTER. Regardless of the situation or the circumstances we have to treat the matter as if she could go either way. She is a threat to our village whether she chooses to help us or him." Sasuke makes to talk, but Tsunade silences him. Waving the paper she has filled out, she says, "No, I will not change my mind. Yuki and Koki are, as of right now, BANNED from our village. Our ninjas now have permission to attack them if they are seen." She hands the paper to someone who rushes to carry out the orders. Within minutes, everyone in the Leaf Village knows what's going on. 

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**Back to the Ruins of the Land of Ice …**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Koki laughs. "Let's take a break, you seem tired."

Yuki glares at him from up in a tree. "Do you think so? You've chased me around for like …. Three hours straight!" 

Koki is serious again. "You need endurance Yuki. I shouldn't let you take a break, but I know this is new to you. You need some rest, then we will try something else."

Yuki jumps down, at the same time feeling something strange in the pit of her stomach. "Koki, do you feel that?"

Koki looks alarmed. He goes to Yuki's side, looking around, he doesn't see much. "It's not close enough for me to tell what or where it is."

Yuki closes her eyes, and visualizes. Her hands raises and she points in a direction. "That way."

Koki smiles. "Good to know that your chakra sensing is so well-tuned. Let's go. It might be trouble."

The pair of them go in the direction Yuki found, not knowing what they were about to encounter. Amongst the snow-covered rubble stands a man. Koki throws a shuriken at the man, who merely turns and catches it. Koki's mouth drops open.

The man says, "That isn't very nice, Koki. Still, I cannot complain. A shuriken is much neater than a sword." As he talks, they can see blood dripping from his body to mar the snow beneath him.

Koki shakes his head. "Don't listen Yuki. It's a trick, an illusion. He isn't real."

Yuki asks, "How can you be sure?"

Koki sighs. "Because that is Marc, and I slew him with my own sword after he helped me get rid of everyone else."

Yuki's eyes go wide. " THAT is Marc? But …"

Koki looks at her. "What?"

Yuki whispers, "The day before I ran away, I was introduced me to the boy I was going to marry. That's the boy! He didn't seem interested at all and I was very upset about how calm he was about it. The next day at the wedding, I pulled my kunai out of hiding and began fighting. And do you know what…?"

Koki says, "What?"

Yuki continues to whisper, "HE HELPED ME GET OUT."

Koki look at her, then at Marc. "Not surprising, really. He knew I was in love with you." His face falls. "That explains his distance. I told him I was going to kill whomever was chosen to marry you. He knew it was him, so he said nothing. He convinced me that just getting rid of all the available boys would be best." Koki frowns. "This gets stranger by the minute."

Marc laughs. "It certainly does." To their shock, Marc is right in front of them, still bleeding excessively. "Mind pulling your sword out, friend?"

Koki frowns, noticing the sword. He pulls it out dubiously. Just like that, the blood disappears and Marc looks none the worse for wear. Marc says, "Sorry about that, but I had to be sure it was you. Too many tricks lie in the way and all that. So, you two have finally met I see."

Yuki blushes a little but says nothing.

Koki says, "This is NOT possible Marc. I killed you, I know that I did. You are an illusion!" He does the signs for releasing a jutsu, but nothing happens.

Marc laughs. "I am no illusion. An unasked for ally helped me. In return, I am to help him." He turns to Yuki. "That ally wants you. You will come with me now."

Yuki crosses her arms. "No way, this is too weird for my comfort!"

Koki steps forward a bit. "Who helped you Marc? Who saved you from dying?"

Marc shrugs. "Yuki's real father brought his friend to heal me. Orochimaru didn't want to help me, but after Raven told him about Yuki, he changed his mind. Now, … Let's go."

Yuki shakes her head.

Marc frowns. "I didn't say you had a choice, did I?" He looks at Koki. "Sorry, friend, but you're in MY way now." Quicker than Yuki can see, Marc launches himself at Koki. A fight was clearly about to happen. Yuki holds her breath, wondering what to do.

**TBC!**


End file.
